The Truth
by Kaerelie Cecilia
Summary: Naruto awakens his bloodline. From blue, to red, to black, what would Naruto do with his newfound power? A girl with similar power as his own? What is the Truth? Credits to BlackPANDA's aSTRAY Discontinued. Rewritten in Memento mori with different account
1. Prologue

**Before I start, I would like to thank BlackPANDA xD for giving me the permission to write my version of her fanfic. The first 6 - 10 chapters or so are actually written by her and I simply modified it to fit my story. To read the original version written by BlackPANDA xD, search _aSTRAY_. I'll probably post my plot line after I finish modifying BlackPANDA xD's to fit my story so just so you know, I'm not plagiarizing. I have permission from BlackPANDA xD.**

**To BlackPANDA xD:**

**Thanks for letting me use your story as the basis of mine. I hope you like my version as well.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. If I did, Itachi would never have died and Sakura and Ino would have been killed long long time ago. Also, Nagato and Sasori wouldn't have died at all.**

**Disclaimer: The plot line of first part of my story does NOT belong to me but to BlackPANDA xD.**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper of B1aCk RoSE (B1aCk RoSE is my symbol in case you haven't noticed or not have read my profile)**

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Prologue:**

The night was cold, and the stars glinted brightly against the dark sky. The full moon was tinted a blood red, and the light shone dimly onto a large forest. Animals huddled together for warmth, their ragged breaths visible as a mist in the air. The trees themselves were silent, and only the slight stir of the wind through the leaves could be heard in that forest.

But deep in the middle of the stands of trees, was a village. It was an uncommonly large village, and their lights shone brightly in the darkness of the night. Their laughter and cries of joy was so alarmingly different from the rest of the world.

The reason for the all the happiness was because of a festival, a celebration. Everybody could feel the excitement in the air, as they danced, laughed, played, and sung. Little kids bought tiny trinkets and ate hand spun cotton candy while adults laughed together and toasted to a great night.

The world was asleep, but the people didn't care because it was a festival. They were finally free. Was it so wrong to celebrate that? And so, they continued with their happiness, oblivious to the coldness of the rest of the world.

But there was one man, so different from the rest. He wore a dark reddish black cloak, the hood completely hiding his face. He bowed his head low to the ground as he walked down the laughter filled street. Away from the Hokage Mountain where he stood watching the celebration, distant and lonely. He had left the mountain just couple minutes ago, his long slender finger barely brushing against the chiseled rock.

And this man, so different from the rest, avoided the people and went to the reality of the world. He found himself at the gates of Konoha, and just stood there, alone, away from the laughter, away from light, and was consumed by the silence.

And without a backwards glance, the man left the light, and turned to the reality of the world. He walked with quick and sure steps as he entered into the trees, and his figure was soon engulfed with darkness.

The night was cold and stars glinted brightly against the dark sky. But only one person, in the entire world, could feel it.

**~xXx~**

It was morning in Konoha, as the light of the sun finally broke through the horizon and into the clear, light blue sky of the morning.

A tall lean figure walked through the deserted street. This figure had distinct striking dark raven hair that stuck up in the back and a strange crest on the back of his shirt. He didn't pay attention to the discarded litter on the ground, or the festival lanterns still swinging high on the rooftops. His dark eyes, partially hidden by his long bangs, had its sight on one thing alone: a lone, dreary apartment that stuck up against the calm and bright background.

But when he came closer, he realized that something was wrong. The apartment felt abandoned and his steps became quicker and more desperate. To the figure's shock, he could smell the disgusting odor of alcohol and explosive powder in the air and he began running through the stairs.

When he reached his destination, he slammed open the door, and froze. The apartment was filled with mangled corpses lying everywhere. Their heads were completely missing. No, their heads weren't sliced cleanly off; it was more like as if somebody stuffed a grenade in their mouths and detonated it, judging by the amount of blood splattered against the walls.

The figure stepped numbly into the apartment, when his foot suddenly broke through the wooden flooring. He hastily withdrew his foot, and found, to his surprise, that it was a loose floorboard, and inside, was a single black book.

The figure curiously took out the small book, and with trembling hands, opened it, and began reading.

_To whomever curious reader that finds this,_

_In this book is my life, with all the details, and thoughts that I could think of. I left this behind so that people might, one day, understand why exactly I did what I did. Why I acted like I was acting._

_If this is Sasuke that picked up this book, then teme, I have one thing to say to you. Get over that emo crap and start living your life for kami's sake._

_You will never see me again. By the time you read this, it will be too late for anyone to catch me._

Sasuke, for that was the figure's name, stared at the familiar writing, before looking at the bottom of the page, where another sentence, written suspiciously in what looked like blood, was scrawled on. The words itself were written in a different penmanship.

**LOOK UP UCHIHA.**

Sasuke quickly glanced upwards, and felt his eyes widen as he saw the tens of thousands of explosive paper notes stuck to the ceiling, their ends burning rapidly. Sasuke looked around for the source of trigger and to Sasuke's horror, the long triggering wire was attached to the book itself.

A long way away, at the top of a large red tower almost underneath a massive cliff, the Hokage jumped in shock as he felt a large tremor coming from Naruto's apartment.

This is my life. This is my story. Believe it.

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**Thanks for reading this and by the way, you should really try reading the original one. It's really really REALLY good. You probably will like it more than mine. Anyways, post some reviews and I'll appreciate any constructive criticisms.**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper of B1aCk RoSE**


	2. Chapter 1: I Cold Blue Eyes

**Hello again. This is basically my first chapter (ish) and this is the part I of the chapter. There is three part to this story and this part is where I get to have little Naruto and Reiko rant about some depressing things. Well, I hope you enjoy it and I really apologize for sucking in writing. I always was and I doubt that's going to change anytime soon so I might just as well show the world how much I suck. Really, it's not like people's actually going to praise my writing since I already know I suck. Anyways, when you're done reading, just press the blue link/button and tell me how much this story sucked or something. Or maybe after you read the next two parts of this chapter to see if I improve or not (which I don't except probably the second part since most of that part if not all are written by this awesome person BlackPANDA xD but I bet your faces will be crestfallen after reading the third part so if you don't want to, then don't read it. It really saves a lot of trouble.)**

**Disclaimer: The plot for this chapter and next couple chapters do NOT belong to me. They belong to BlackPANDA xD and the only part that belongs to me is the Reiko's part of the part I and every chapter's part III. Also, I changed a little bit of the Naruto's part but mostly are written by BlackPANDA xD. Also, I do NOT own Naruto and the only character I own so far are Reiko and couple characters that I'm going to introduce in part III. But, they are not really that important so until now, Reiko's the only main character that I own.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**

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The Truth - Chapter 1: Cold Blue Eyes**

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_**"Boy, there's a demon for everything!" -Anonymous**_

_**"If your life has no purpose, then you're already dead,"-Kiba [Wolf's Rain]**_

_**"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." -Albert Einstein**_

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**I**

_Let's start from the beginning, shall we? I guess when that sign fell, that's when things started. I could never resist my stupid hero complex. It just felt natural, I guess. Even now, years later, I still have such a noble head, and won't refuse any kind of call for help. It's one of the only things, really, that I share with my dobe persona._

_You might be thinking, what am I talking about? What dobe persona? I'm not the stupid dead last you've always known. I'm not loud, I'm not obnoxious, and I'm not like anything you've always thought of me. The mask was a shield, and yet, as Kano said, it attracted people. It was one of my hidden abilities that made people naturally flock to me. Well, they did once they got over the oversized kitten living in my head._

_But why a mask? What the hell would make me need one in the first place? To truly understand, you would have to be Gaara, the one-tailed Tanuki, from Suna. You would have to be Yugito, the two-tailed Demon Cat, from Kumo. You would have to be me, the nine-tailed Kyuubi no Kitsune. We are jinchuuriki, a human sacrifice. We are powerful. We are cursed. We are feared. And you'll never understand that._

_I used to be confused by all these events. But at 7 years old, this was the age of acceptance, when I finally decided to accept everything that would happen to me. I guess that's why I could get over things quickly._

_But there are still some things I'll always deny._

- Naruto

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_**"We enjoy the night, the darkness, where we can do things that aren't acceptable in the light. Night is when we slake our thirst." -William Hill**_

_**"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke**_

_**"Maybe this world is another planet's Hell" -Aldous Huxley**_

_**"While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die." -Leonardo Da Vinci**_

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You guys can laugh at my story, do whatever you want with it. I really don't give a crap whether you believe my story or not. Why? I stopped giving crap to anything long time ago. Why should I start now? You guys don't understand the meaning of true pain. Heck, you never even went close to it. The true pain comes from shunning, from trying to stand tall but being beaten back to the ground until you know the geography of the ground better than your surroundings._

_You probably are thinking right now, 'We had our fair share of pain. We all had to go through the same up and down in our lives. You must be weak to not be able to survive through all that.' Well, have you? You never experienced the true pain, the aching in your heart that will never cease to exist. You never had to be shunned by the entire village because you were a bit different. You never had to run all your life __because some weird guys wanted your power._

_I learned to kill my emotions from a young age. When I learned to feel again and started to love, the world turned its back on me. This cycle has continued for what seems like eternity and to tell you the truth, I'm really tired of it. I'm tired of putting a facade around people who never understood me and never would._

_To understand my pain, to truly understand the pain that I lived in from before I even turned one, you have to Naruto who was shunned by villagers all his life, you have to be Itachi who was forced to choose between two choices that eventually led up to his death, you have to be all the other jinchuuriki's who were shunned through their entire life. You have to be Hinata who learned to mask all her feelings behind a mask of timid and weak girl in order to protect herself from her own family. You have to be me, a girl who learned how to fight before age two, a girl who learned to kill in cold blood before she was even four, a girl who despaired over life._

_You guys will never understand my story but I can always try. My story, deeply intertwined with the other pains, is different from others. My life is entwined with strands of Hinata, strands of Itachi, and strands of Naruto._

_This is the fact of life. This is the Truth._

- Reiko

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**_"The darkness that surrounds us cannot hurt us. It is the darkness in your own heart you should fear." -Silvetris_**

**_"If ever you should need my life, come and take it." -The Sea Gull_**

**_"History was written by those who hanged the heroes." -Braveheart_**

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**_**Thanks for enduring my story and I hope you like/liked it. I would always appreciate reviews.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**


	3. Chapter 1: II Naruto: The Hatred

**This is the second chapter and this is basically the same chapter as BlackPANDA xD's except for minor adjustments. This is only Naruto's story and I'll talk about Reiko's story in the next chapter. I'm planning on my story being 1) The thoughts/diary entries of Naruto and Reiko in first chapter, then 2) Naruto's story at the time period with his interaction with people, focusing more on him as third person POV, then 3) Reiko's story at the same time period as the previous Naruto's story with this time Reiko's interaction with people, again focusing on Reiko with third person POV.**

**The chapters on Naruto's third person POV mostly belongs to BlackPANDA xD (until I'm finished with all the things BlackPANDA xD wrote) but all the things that has to do with Reiko belongs to me... meaning the next chapter will belong to me and solely to me alone.**

**Thanks once again to BlackPANDA xD for the awesome story outline...**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**

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Naruto's Story**

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A small 7 year old boy was running clumsily down the alley, his dirty sandals stepping over large puddles, the splashes numbing his feet to the bone. Heavy raindrops drilled onto his normally spiky blonde hair, the ends weighed down with water, dripping from his bangs into his eyes. Those large, brilliant blue eyes darted from side to side, searching endlessly for a shortcut, a pathway, anything to get them off his trial.

He was being tailed. It was a normal occurrence for him, but this time, he might not be able to get away. Since they happened a lot, he used to have a bodyguard, he called him Idiot-san because he, to put it bluntly, really sucked at his job. The boy suspected that he was doing it on purpose, and learned to never depend on him.

Usually, he was able to hide until they left, but now… There were _chunins _and _jounins _following him too. All of his tactics, and hiding spots were quickly discovered and there was only one place left to go to. The Hokage tower….

Would he make it?

Naruto, for that was the boy's name, ran faster, and spurred on by desperation. Suddenly, he slipped on the slick, muddy grass, falling heavily onto the ground. He lay there; his breathe ragged, thinking of what happened to led up to this.

It just… didn't make sense….

**FLASHBACK:**

Naruto was walking down the road, his gama-chan in his pocket. Whispers followed him, as even now he was drawing in attention.

A large, slightly fat man purposely shoved into his shoulder, the force knocking him to the ground. "WATCH IT, BRAT!" he growled. Naruto plastered a huge grin on his face, which only seemed to annoy him further.

"Sorry, sorry," Naruto piped up, with politeness. "I wasn't watching where I was going." The conversation seemed to attract people, who kept shooting glances at the pair. The man gave him one last dark look, before stomping past him, managing to step painfully on his foot on the way. Naruto kept smiling at him, seemingly not bothered in the least by the pain.

Suddenly, two small blurs bumped into him, and they all crashed into the ground. Bemused, Naruto rubbed his head gingerly before looking at the person, no, two kids, in front of him. They were only around 4 years old, and were wearing bright red beanie hats over their brown hair.

They scowled at him for interrupting what was probably a game of tag, before running off again. Rolling his eyes at their rudeness, Naruto picked himself off the ground before walking off.

"AAAAAH!"

Eyes widening, Naruto snapped his head towards the scream, his smile immediately disappearing. Above the Konoha bookstore, a enormous wooden sign, bearing the words, _'Blue Serein,' _had broken off from the rooftop, falling at a breakneck speed towards the two kids he had bumped into. The villagers around him, mostly only the elderly, and kids, screamed warnings at them, who were too engrossed in their game to pay attention.

The world seemed to go in slow motion, as Naruto raced over there. His hero complexion took in the facts: 1) there were no ninja around the marketplace in the mornings, meaning no one else was going to save them and 2) with only small stubby legs, he wasn't going to make it in time.

Naruto stubbornly denied the facts, he had to save them! Blue eyes stared desperately at the falling sign. Why couldn't it just go away! Pushing aside shocked people, he screamed.

"STOOOPP!"

The sign disappeared in a swirl of black threads, before Naruto fell into unconsciousness.

**~xXx~**

"I think he's waking up…."

Naruto groaned. Why was he feeling a pounding headache? He reluctantly opened bleary eyes, staring up at a nearby blurry object obscuring most of his vision. Slowly, his vision cleared, revealing the worried face of the Sandaime.

The Sandime shooed away the nurse, before turning back to Naruto.

"Naruto? How are you feeling?" The Hokage asked in a worried tone.

Naruto blinked, before glancing at the surroundings. He was in fluffy white bed, and the room smelt of antiseptic. He was in a hospital.

Naruto turned back to the Sandaime. "Ow," he piped up bluntly. He was rewarded when Sarutobi chuckled, his face visibly relaxing.

"Do you remember what happened, Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head, immediately regretting it as it sent new waves of pain into his head. Seeing Naruto's grimace, Sarutobi continued in a gentler tone.

"You suddenly collapsed in the middle of the street… The doctors said it was severe chakra exhaustion…" he continued in a more serious tone. "Do you know why?"

"Chakra…?" Naruto asked slowly in confusion.

"It's the energy source of our bodies," Sarutobi explained.

Naruto nodded his head, slowly this time, in understanding. Slowly, the memories came back to him. The sign…. What exactly happened? His mind raced over the possibilities, although none of them made much sense. He glanced up to see Sarutobi's expected face, and realized he was suppose to say something.

"Are the little people okay?" Naruto asked suddenly, waving his arms in a panic.

'Little people?' Sarutobi echoed in amusement. "Do you mean the two little boys who told me that you were lying down in the middle of the street? Why wouldn't they be?"

"Huh…? What happened to… ah never mind," Naruto faltered, looking up at his only parental figure in his life. His eye threatened to twitch uncontrollably. How could they NOT be? They were almost hit by a freaking 10 meter long sign!

Sarutobi sighed worryingly, and Naruto felt a pang of guilt for making oji-san come all the way to the hospital to visit him, forgetting for a moment what he was going to ask. The feeling felt really odd though, like it was a foreign feeling. Before he could ponder that, Sarutobi stood up slowly, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"I have to go now, Naruto, come visit me when you feel better, okay?" he said with a small smile, before leaving out the door.

Naruto stared at his retreating back before snuggling into the bed, trying to ignore the steady pounding in his head. Chakra exhaustion sucked. Soon, only the pitter patter of the rain hitting the window was heard, and Naruto fell into a light slumber.

**~xXx~**

"Get UP!"

Naruto opened his eyes, as he was roughly awakened by a pair of hands forcibly shaking him in consciousness. Looking up with groggy eyes, he saw the nurse that was here earlier with oji-san, sneering down at him with utter disgust.

Nodding obediently, he quickly got off the bed, changed, and was practically shoved out of the room. Still slightly sleepy, he walked clumsily down the empty hall. Naruto, with a panicked jolt, realized the time, it was around midnight and pouring outside.

Naruto felt a ping of dread rise up in him. The nurses had released him at this time for a reason, the drunken villagers. For some reason, the villagers always thought of him as dangerous at night time, and every night, Naruto had to avoid going outside at this time because if he got caught by them…. Well, it would be really unpleasant.

But it wasn't like he was evil, it wasn't like he was a demon or anything... Right?

Sure enough, as he took only 5 steps out of the hospital, he heard shouts coming in his direction.

"THERE HE IS!"

"OVER HERE, PEOPLE!"

Swearing profusely, a trait that he had gotten from many drunken people, he ran the opposite direction, taking random turns in hopes of losing them.

Running down the deserted street, he found himself in the same place where he lost consciousness. Suddenly, he skidded to a halt, eyes looking in disbelief above the Konoha bookstore. The sign wasn't there; it didn't even look like it was placed there in the first place. Like it never existed…

In fact, Sandaime didn't look like he knew that the sign had miraculously disappeared… The two kids had told Oji-san that he had only collapsed, and not that he was racing over there to save them… What the _heck_ was going on?

Angry voices reached his ears again, and Naruto broke out of his thoughts, and ran off again.

**xXxXxXxXxXx FLASHBACK OVER xXxXxXxXxXx**

He was surrounded. They were all shinobi, their forehead protectors proudly bearing the Konoha symbol. Their breathe stank of alcohol and their expressions were twisted into triumphant sneers: in short, stereotypical drunken men.

"We all heard of what happened, demon-spawn…," one of them sneered menacingly, slowly licking the blade of a kunai grasped in his hand.

Naruto's eyes widened a little. The man was a chunin, with the common brown hair and brown eyes of most of the villagers. But most importantly, were his blood shot eyes, his hair tied into a messy loose ponytail, and the fact that he recognized him. It was his bodyguard, Taichi, also known as Idiot-san.

"My kids saw it… Your cursed eyes were turning red as you were glaring at them!" One screamed down at me in a panicked voice.

"We shouldn't have put so much trust in Hokage-sama! It's time… YOU DIE!" Five men charged at the small boy and the little boy's eyes shut tightly.

**~xXx~**

Jiraiya sighed in contentment. It was the time. After many years, he had finally finished his newest novel, 'Icha Icha Paradise,' He had a feeling that this one would launch him to stardom. Why, even the pouring rain wouldn't crush his spirits right no-

_CRASH_

A small kid bumped straight into him. He looked scared, and was breathing harshly. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. Where were this brat's parents and why would he be let out as such an hour? And besides, what kind of a kid bumps into someone on a deserted street?

The kid looked up at him, his red eyes widening in recognition under the blue cap he wore. _From the Yuhi clan? _Jiraiya mused silently.

"Jiraiya-sama!" the kid exclaimed in awe. Jiraiya felt a large grin form on his face. Ah, so even the brats of Konoha have heard of the great toad sannin?

"Jiraiya-sama…. Boy… blood…. Screaming….." the kid babbled in a panicked voice. The grin faltered a bit as Jiraiya took an actual look at him. The kid was probably around 5 years old, and wearing a blue cap over black hair and red eyes. With his wide eyes, and ragged breath, he looked like a genin after his first kill.

"Speak up, gaki," Jiraiya said firmly, placing his hands over the kid's trembling shoulders.

"There's…" the kid said, his voice shaky, "B-back near the marketplace alleys… There was a boy my age… He was getting b-beat up by drunken villagers! _Blood_… _everywhere_…" Jiraiya felt the beginnings of unease in him. Drunken villagers? A _boy_…?

"What was his hair color? Tell me!" Jiraiya demanded, looking straight into the kid's large eyes.

"I-I'm not sure… But I think it was a bright yellow.."

The kid yelped in shock as Jiraiya disappeared in a sudden gust of wind. His tearful red eyes followed the quickly retreating figure. After a few seconds, the kid straightened up, his breathe suddenly becoming normal again. His once frightened eyes were shadowed in the cap he wore. It was like he was an entirely different person.

With a sudden rush of speed impossible for one his age, he slammed a fist into the wall next to him, the stone crumbling easily under the assault, leaving a bare hole. He disappeared.

**~xXx~**

Fear. Dread. Panic. Pain. Hopelessness. Anxiety. Pain. Despair. Pain.

But most of all, there was pain.

He wasn't very fond of the color red. It reminded him of many things during his childhood. Memories of the agonizing sound of blades ripping through flesh, sadistic smirks seen through hazy eyes, lonely minutes, days, nights, years…

No, he did not like the color red. Yet it defined him. It covered him.

If there was a list of memories he could never forget, numbering 1 to 5, this one would be number 5.

Naruto coughed out blood from his mouth. They surrounded him, their eyes full of satisfaction. It used to be ignorance, hidden contempt, but now…. They really wanted to kill him.

He was strung up on his hands onto the wall by kunai, the blade so sharp; it dug into his hands with his every movement like a cruel parody of the crucifix. Bruises littered his small body, and his hair was matted with so much blood, it was hard to distinguish the yellow from the red. The once white shirt was tattered, revealing shiny raw burns on his shoulders, and arms.

A single deep slash went through his ribs, deep enough to show the white bones gleaming in the moonlight. Some of the broken ends and flesh were blackened black and burnt, so that he wouldn't bleed to death. Naruto was breathing shallowly, his life leaving him with every exhale.

"This. Is. For. My. SISTER!" Drawing a katana, the man advanced on the hanged Naruto, and slowly began peeling the skin off his fingers, one by one, a grimy hand muffling his screams.

"Not so powerful, now, AREN'T YOU?" Spit hit his face, mingling with the blood.

"Hahahahaha, look at the abomination bleed!"

Naruto looked up, his brilliant blue eyes, the only color other than red on the child, staring unblinking at them. A shiver went through the drunken men, sobering them for a moment. Those eyes were full of pain, and despair, a sin to have on a child.

"You know what…?" Naruto said slowly, as if realizing something. Abomination…. Demon spawn…. A near nonexistent crack appeared in his cheerful mask. For the first time, despair wrecked through him like wildfire, the hated looks, the agony of every word, every whisper…. A quiet but heartbreaking, hysterical laugh bubbled up in him, startling the men.

Blue…

"If everybody hated me…. Loathed me.. Rejected me…."

He was only 7 years old. Did other children his age have a life like his? No, a kid his age wasn't supposed to live alone, taking care of himself. A kid his age wasn't supposed to have 17 murder attempts on his life for the just in the past year alone. Why the secrecy? Why the hatred?

What the hell _was_ he, anyway?

_Red…_

"…Why….. Why did I even exist in the first place?" the little boy asked himself softly, his mind sinking into blackness below, engulfing him.

**_Black._**

Sickening. That was the first word that came to Jiraiya. No, it wasn't a war zone, no; it wasn't a torture chamber… But it might've just as well been one. In actuality, the scene in front of him was a fucking typical night out for the Konoha villagers.

"NARUTO!" Jiraiya screamed in horror. Anger. And Guilt. Just what did he leave here in Konoha? Just what kind of a life did Minato leave his son to? Killer intent drove out of him in one vicious course, leaving the drunken men frozen in fear, some pissing their pants. _Good. _With a speed known only to a sannin, Jiraiya viciously attacked them, rasengan in each hand, mercifully only at half power, launching them into the walls with a sickening crunch.

Tears came unbidden in his eyes, as he glared with fury at the fallen drunks.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE ALL DOING?" Jiraiya screamed, losing his composure completely. "YOU FUCKI-" Jiraiya stopped, gritting his teeth, chakra pulsing out of him in waves, most likely alerting the Hokage. He turned his head, fearful of what he was going to see.

Naruto… _Naruto _was still pinned to the wall, the blood dripping down the wall like rain. His head was leaning into his chest, and it looked like as if….

"Narut-" Jiraiya started in panic, racing over there.

Naruto's face snapped upward, and Jiraiya saw dark red, almost black eyes staring back at him. They were deep voids, eyes of the dead. Suddenly, red slits appeared in those dark pupils.

"**GET. AWAY. HUMAN." **said a menacing deep voice not belonging to Naruto. A burst of red chakra pulsed through the alley, the deep evil and sickening feeling of it warning him to stay back. For a brief heartbeat, Jiraiya stood there, staring with unease at those strange eyes.

Pain exploded on Jiraiya's body as cuts slashed through his arms and body. He got knocked off his feet, as something or some things attacked him. Landing hard against a wall with a pained grunt, he was starting to get up again when a cool metallic _something _hovered close to his jugular, the sharp edge pressed so hard that it drew blood.

Something like fear swelled up inside Jiraiya as he made a startling realization. Whatever pressed against his neck, and those other things that attacked him… He couldn't _see_ them.

Was it the kyuubi? Or was it Naruto himself?

He slowly puts up his hands as a gesture of peace, and the eyes continued staring at him warily but then they widened slightly in recognition.

"…**Jiraiya," **the voice murmured before the dark reddish black color faded from his eyes, replaced with a deep blue. Then Naruto slumped unconscious.

**~xXx~**

Sandaime was at his office, trying to concentrate on the paperwork to no avail. His thoughts were on Naruto, who was lying in the hospital. Jiraiya, covered in cuts and blood, had barged into the office, dispatching all the ANBU guards on the way, and said bluntly,

"Naruto's in the hospital. Villagers were attacking him, hanging him to the wall…." here he gritted his teeth, forcing the words out. "by kunai dug into his hands. He's in a comatose state." Jiraiya's face turned stony as he glared hatefully at his sensei, who had long dropped his cigar pipe in shock. "We'll talk later, but right now… I'm going to see my godson."

With one last look, he turned around, and left, slamming the door so hard, cracks appeared in the corners.

Sandaime buried his face in his hands. Naruto. He had underestimated the hatred of the villagers. What exactly had Naruto been through his life? What could he do to help him? Right now, nothing. No one was willing to adopt Naruto, except maybe for Kakashi, but he was in ANBU and was a teenager. With missions, and his inexperience, he wasn't suitable for parenthood. The counsel was already demanding a death sentence over the kyuubi's chakra pulse nearly felt through the entire village. He had already pressed charges for assault against the drunken villagers, who were handed over to Ibiki. But for Naruto… Sandaime's head rose up quickly as he got an idea.

Sandaime raised his left hand, and two ANBU immediately popped into his office, giving him a respectful bow. "Find Karasu and bring him here. Tell him he is needed on a solo S-rank mission."

The two ANBU nodded but one, Wolf, stayed behind. He appeared to be struggling for what to do, before finally collapsing onto a chair. Wolf slowly took off his mask, a gesture meaning that he was serious enough to break the ANBU code of never showing your identity. The blank face of Hatake Kakashi was revealed as he adjusted it to the side of his head.

"How's Naruto, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi said, the despair evident through his voice and how tight his grip was on the armrest.

Sandaime sighed, lighting his pipe again. "He's in the hospital right now; Jiraiya should be there with him." Kakashi nodded slowly, still not quite believing what has happened. "He'll live. But if it weren't for the kyuubi's chakra, I doubt that he would've survived this." he added.

Kakashi just nodded again, pausing as he considered the Sandaime's weary expression, before bowing and leaving through the window, the only evidence of his anger were the burn marks on the armrests of the chair he sat on, still smoking from the chakra he had accidentally released.

Sandaime stared out of the window, looking down at his village. Naruto is only six years old. They were blinded by hate and their loss. It was a wonder how Naruto was able to keep smiling despite the loneliness. Naruto's life and his future rested with Karasu.

"Hokage-sama. Karasu reporting for the S-rank mission." said a voice behind him.

Sandaime turned slowly. Karasu was an ANBU, still fresh as he had only taken 3 missions so far. His pale emotionless mask had black painted on it to look like a grotesque crow, intimidating and cold, yet it had an elegant air to it. He was around 5' which was tall for his age, as he was still in his adolescent age of nine.

"Take off your mask, Itachi-kun, this is an undercover mission. You must tell nobody about this, I am trusting you with my life…."

"Hokage-sama?" Itachi said in slight shock, adjusting his mask to the side of his head, revealing a young face with long hair tide in a short ponytail, and long ebony bangs covering his black eyes.

"What do you think of Uzumaki Naruto, Itachi-kun?"

"The jinchuuriki boy?" Itachi questioned politely. "Other than that mild chakra surge from before, which has a sound reason behind it, I don't see how Uzumaki-san could be considered a 'demon'." he finished before looking up at the Sandaime blankly, although anyone who knew the Uchiha prodigy would see the puzzlement in his eyes.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Sarutobi said with a small chuckle.

Itachi widened his eyes a fraction. Somehow, that small chuckle was more intimidating than even Kaa-san's glare.

What has he gotten himself into?

* * *

Taichi shivered in the cold, limping towards his apartment. It wasn't fair. What did he do to deserve an interrogation with Ibiki, of all people? Another shiver wrecked his body, this time in fear. The man wasn't human, that was for sure. He could still feel the effects from his last technique, his limping leg sending him waves of pain.

A 10,000 ryo fine. This was preposterous. Ibiki had looked like he wanted to give more, but thank kami for the council. They said that his actions were justified, and wasn't much of a major offence.

He only wanted to kill the demon. It was high time, after all. The demon had always called him 'Idiot-san' and mocked him at every chance he got. Plus, the brat had finally shown his real self, a fatal mistake. Why did Hokage-sama let him live, even when he did reveal those cursed red eyes of his? The seal was slipping, that was for sure, yet was he still alive? Yondaime was a powerful Hokage, but he knew he shouldn't have put so much trust in the seal. Maybe he shouldn't have toyed with him for so long.

And Jiraiya-sama had to stop him too? The man must've gone mental after those long years away from Konoha. I mean, his team mate was that missing nin, Orochimaru, he had to have rubbed off of him.

After nearly tripping over his own feet from the pain for nearly the twelfth time, Taichi sighed, before heading towards the hospital for some painkillers.

The sight of the hospital made him widen his eyes in surprise. For above the roof, was a man with a guitar. Cliché? Maybe. But why he would be near the hospital made him wonder. Usually, he would be at the roof on top of the demon's apartment, and he would chat with him.

At first, he thought the man came to that particular roof because he had sympathy for him, the unfortunate bodyguard of the demon spawn, but then why would be at the hospital and not there instead?

Overcome by curiosity, the chunin walked up there, and approached the man. The mysterious man was wearing that all black outfit he always wore when he saw him, complete with a black cloak completely obscuring his face.

When he talked, he had the deep voice customary of ANBU. You see, ANBU members had voice changing chips on their masks to protect their identity. It was suspicious, but he really didn't care. If he wanted to kill the demon, he wouldn't object.

The only time he would actually show his real voice was when he sang. And sing he did, nearly every night, accompanied by his acoustic guitar. The man was talented, that was for sure, and practically the only distraction he had during the nights guarding the brat.

Taichi sat next to the man, who gave no movements of noticing his presence, too focused on playing a song. It was a lullaby, soft yet melancholic, and he was humming to it. Taichi smiled a bit, his angry rants about the demon in his head fading away as he calmed down. Even during the times he was playing above the rooftops of the demon's apartment, he always played lullabies for some reason.

The music ended, and the man tilted his head in Taichi's direction.

"Good evening," he greeted, absentmindedly plucking a few notes. Taichi nodded, waving a lazy gesture back at him. "Any reason you're here?"

"I'd say the same to you," Taichi shot back, leaning back against the hospital rooftops, inclining his head towards his companion.

The man fully turned his head towards Taichi. "I change places, sometimes," he answered quietly, still plucking a few strings.

"Needed painkillers," Taichi answered as well, and winced as a fresh wave of pain alerted him to his real reason of being here. He ignored it, he never missed a chat with the man, he was a very intriguing guy. "I was in a… interrogation with Ibiki, don't ask." He sighed. "You wouldn't mind playing a song, wouldn't ya?"

The man whipped up his head at the mention of Ibiki, but cracked his knuckles at the question. "Hmmm…. Why not?"

Soon, the low but echoing sounds of him strumming his guitar filled the night, his sweet, low, but quiet tenor voice somehow managing to be heard above the guitar.

_Change…. Everything you are_  
_Everything you were_  
_Your number has been called….._

_Fights and battles have begun_  
_…Revenge will surely come_  
_Your hard times are ahead_

_Best… You got to be the best_  
_You got to change the world_  
_And use this chance to be heard_

_Your time is now….._

The music suddenly stopped, and Taichi felt a small amount of disappointment. Muse was one of his favourite bands, and when sung by that man, well, it was pure genius. If that man ever quit ANBU, he would've made a very rich musician.

"Gotta go," the man grunted, adjusting his guitar to his back. "Busy and all," Taichi grunted in agreement.

"I know what you mean, guarding that demon spawn is as frustrating as it can get." Taichi grumbled. "The pay was practically the only reason I did it."

"…ly come,"

"What was that?" Taichi called out to the retreating figure on the rooftops. The man didn't pause, but kept walking away.

"Revenge will surely come," he said quietly. For some reason, that sentence sent a chill down his spine. A little bit intimidated, Taichi made the mistake of looking up at him, and the sight made his blood run cold. The icy coldness seemed to seep into the depth of his soul, freezing it into an icy sculpture. The blue was like a blue Taichi has never seen before and was so expressionless, so cold, and so... dead.

The mysterious man and Taichi kept meeting at night times. Taichi was fired as the bodyguard, replaced by an ANBU, but did stop to visit every once in a while, as he loved his songs. But he never did look him in the eye again, for they were cold as ice and simply unforgettable. He wondered how eyes could become like that, like as if the entire world had turned against it. He never dared to ask him though, the mere thought of them sent shivers down his spine.

_Frighteningly cold blue eyes._

_

* * *

_**Thanks for reading my story and I would really appreciate some constructive criticism. Thanks to BlackPANDA xD for this chapter and I'll try to keep up with BlackPANDA xD's rather advanced writing style with the next chapter.**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**


	4. Chapter 1: III Reiko: Walking Dead

**Hey guys, this chapter is written solely by me and I'm excited to see how you guys like this. I hope you all will enjoy this story. This is not Naruto's third person POV but is Reiko's third person POV. Thanks for reading and thanks to BlackPANDA xD for the story (but this chapter is mine. the ones before mostly belongs to BlackPANDA xD)**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Reiko's Story**

**_Four years ago:_**

A little toddler of what looked like only at oldest two walked unsteadily on its feet. The toddler, obviously a girl, seemed unsure of her steps as she walked around her huge backyard, wondering where her parents were. Her clothes were elegant and her pretty indigo black hair blew in the soft breeze of wind.

"Ma… Mommy?" the girl tried to pronounce a word that she learned only a week ago. "Ma… Mommy?"

There was no answer. The girl didn't know why but she felt a strange aura surrounding her house, making her feel so chilled and alone. "Mommy? Da… Daddy?" the girl cried out, now scared that no one answered her. Usually, her servants or her maid would have come out by now if her parents weren't at home, but… there was no one.

"Mommy! Daddy! Ako!" the little girl cried out into the silence, tears overflowing her fear-filled gray eyes. She called out to her parents, she called out to her Aiko, her nanny, but no one answered.

The girl ran into her house as fast as her short unstable leg could carry. Now, tears were cascading down her scared face, leaving puffy red eyes behind.

The little toddler entered her house and found it dark, not a single ray of light illuminating the huge mansion. She had a bad feeling and her mind screamed at her to run.

_'Run, Reiko. Run.'_ Her little mind told her but she refused to obey.

The girl, whose name was Reiko, felt her way to her parent's room and felt stick liquid trailing down the granite wall. It was too sticky, too sticky for her likings and she yanked her hand from the substance. Even after wiping her hand on the hard marble floor, her hand still had the sticky feeling and the substance seemed to harden on her hand. Now, Reiko was getting really scared and her little mind was confused at the sight before her.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Reiko peered into her parent's room, expecting her parents to all the sudden pop out of nowhere and tell her everything was alright. She wanted her little teddy bear, Konatsu-chan with her along with her parents and her nanny. She didn't like this at all and she'll tell her parents she was really scared and didn't like the prank.

The room was cold and some sickening stench came from the large bed deep inside the huge room. Reiko could smell the grotesque odor of salt and iron. A two slumped form caught her eyes and Reiko ran toward them.

"Mommy, Daddy, I found you! I was so scared, everything's all dark and Aiko didn't come to me when I called for her." Reiko ran toward what seemed to be her parents as fast as her short legs could carry her.

When she reached the bed, a grotesque sight met her eyes. Her parents were lying slumped on the bed, their throats slip and their bodies limp. Her mother's eyes were open, her glazed gray eyes looking at nowhere. Her father was in similar position, his face in expression of utter horror, and his blue eyes glassy without focus. The blood from their throat trickled down their neck, staining the silky bed cover below. Her father was slashed in many different places, the gash right across his abdomen being the most prominent of them all.

Reiko didn't understand what was happening but she knew one thing. Something happened. Her puny brain tried to process what she saw but all she saw was her beloved parents lying in the pool of their own blood, their body mutilated with gashes and blood. Reiko cautiously felt her mom's hand, a hand that had comforted her when she had a nightmare, a hand that steadied her when she first took her step, and coldness jolted through her arm. The hand that had always been there for her when she needed it was cold and dead under her soft touch.

Reiko cringed away from the coldness and sudden fear surged through her body like it had never before. Then, her keen eyes caught a sudden movement in the shadow. She snapped her head in the direction of the door, her gray eyes widening in fear. The shadow stopped for a moment and Reiko somehow knew that the shadow was looking straight at her.

"Who… Who are you?" Reiko stammered, her heart beating loudly with fear. Every cell of her body screamed her to run but Reiko stood there, paralyzed by fear.

"Who I am is none of your concern. You will find me when you are older. Next time we meet, I will not hesitate to take your life so get prepared for an early death." A low husky voice told her from the shadow and Reiko's little brain inferred that the voice belong to a man.

Reiko's young mind didn't quite comprehend what he just told her but she knew that something was wrong. She didn't understand what the man was doing in her mansion and why her parents were lying on their bed, looking as they did. All she knew was that she was scared and she didn't like the man standing in the shadow. _Yes_, she decided. She didn't like the man at all.

The man just laughed a husky, bone-chilling laugh and disappeared. Reiko didn't know what happened but she was pretty sure what she saw just moments before was real. She didn't understand why the man was in her mansion and told her weird things. She didn't know how he managed to disappear like that. All she did understand was the tension that hung thick in the air and the suffocating stuffiness that seemed to choke the breath out of her. She just followed her child's instinct and ran out of the room, out of the suffocating stench of the mansion, out into the blue sky.

Reiko wasn't sure why she started but she started screaming at the top of her lungs, a scream of fear and absolute horror. Her little body shuddered at the image of her parents lying in the pool of red sticky substance and even though she didn't quite comprehend what happened, she knew that it couldn't possibly be anything good.

"Help, help. My mommy and daddy won't wake up and no one is answering me! My nanny's not answering me!" Her high-pitched childish voice was octave higher than her normal voice due to the releasing of pent up fear. Reiko ran through the woods, out into the streets of busy Konoha.

Her high pitched scream for help soon caught the attention of many adults, who looked pitying at the tearful little child who couldn't have been any older than one.

A man with silvery hair that seemed to defy gravity and a white mask with designs that looked similar to a wolf approached the screaming girl. He wasn't very tall for he was only 5' 4'' but he seemed to be towering to the little child who was nearly three feet shorter than him. She looked at him with fear, her little 2' 10'' body shaking visibly with fear.

"What's wrong?" the boy asked. Reiko was sure he was only a boy for something about the aura that surrounded him told her he was much younger than the adults that surrounded her.

"My… My ma… mommy and daddy won't wake up. I called to them and they just looked right past me… and a man in the shadow told me something weird…" Reiko burst into tears as she remembered the bone-chilling voice that spoke to her. _You will find me when you are older. Next time we meet, I will not hesitate to take your life so get prepared for an early death. _The voice was though it was tattooed into her mind. "He told me something about early death and next time we meet when I'm older… I don't understand anything! Why weren't mommy and daddy answering me? Why's mommy's hand so cold?" Tears cascaded down the young face of Reiko and the silver haired boy felt a deep sympathy for the poor girl.

The boy awkwardly pulled her close to him, holding her in an embrace. She sobbed into his ANBU uniform, her occasional shudder making her thin shoulders shake. The adults around them clucked their tongue in sympathy for the little girl and couple of them left to alert the Konoha Military Police Force.

"How old are you and what's your name?" the boy gently asked the girl, clearly not willing to make her even farther upset than she was now.

"I… I'm Reiko Okubo and I juh… just turned two couple weeks ago." The girl spoke through her sobs.

A sudden wave of sympathy again jolted through his body. Only two and have her parents murdered… He was pretty sure her parents along with her servants were murdered. He has heard of similar incidents before… no one answering the calls, people lying on their bed with glazed expression, a murdering nearby in the shadow. The only difference was that this time, the lone survivor is a little girl who was barely two years old.

* * *

Konoha Military Police Force sent a team of investigators over to Reiko's house and they only found slashed bodies of servants and Reiko's parents. They searched for clues that might have told them why the one of the richest family in Fire Nation was murdered in such manner for they found no money or any luxury items missing. The only thing actually missing was the lives of the wealthy Okubos that once lived in the white mansion. There was absolutely no clue on who might have committed such gruesome massacre and after trying and failing to gather some information about the murderer, they wrapped up the bodies and prepared for a funeral.

Reiko went to the funeral and her young uncomprehending mind didn't understand why they were burning bodies. She didn't understand why they won't wake up. She didn't understand why her nanny won't just sit up and give her a big hug. She just didn't understand.

The next day, the bodies were burnt in three piles for there wasn't enough space in the graveyard to accommodate all of them. Only Reiko's parents got to be buried in their own spot for they were one of the most powerful couples in Konoha, famous for their riches. All the riches went into a bank that was to be held secure until Reiko came to her age and now, Reiko didn't have anywhere to go.

Reiko just stood without moving, her eyes wandering around at her surroundings. The silver haired boy was shocked to see such a young girl with mature expression. Her expression was like those of a sage, understanding everything that happened around him/her. Her gray eyes were the color of sky before a thunderstorm hit and her expression was so distant, so ethereal.

The boy knew she didn't have anywhere to go and she couldn't just stay at the ANBU headquarters forever. He contacted the Hokage and got the girl a place to stay – an orphanage. He watched from the shadow of a tree as the little girl packed up few of her possession and stood up to leave. The boy walked out of the shadow, offering her to walk her to the orphanage. Her small backpack held her toiletries and in her right arm, she clutched a large brown teddy bear with onyx eyes. When she caught him looking at her teddy bear, she smiled at him and introduced her little teddy bear.

"This is Konatsu-chan. My mommy and daddy gave him to me for my first birthday." Reiko actually looked like a little girl for a moment but the childish expression was gone soon and was replaced by a distant, unearthly look.

The silver haired boy pitied her. No one should have to go through what the girl did. No one should have their entire family wiped out by one man and be the first one to find the bodies. No one should have had to go through all those when they were barely two. No one deserved that.

"I never introduced myself to you, have I?" the boy looked at the girl with somewhat affectionate look.

"No, you haven't. I thought you might not want me to know your true identity so I didn't ask." Reiko answered.

Kakashi was for a moment set back at the thoughtfulness of such a young child. He was pretty sure Reiko was the first child he ever met that even had a tinge of thoughtfulness. Reiko was so mature for her age… heck she was more mature than most ten-year-olds he saw.

"Oh… Well, I don't mind you knowing who I am. My name is Kakashi Hatate and I just became an ANBU. I'm thirteen and I became an ANBU only couple weeks ago." Kakashi introduced himself.

"What's ANBU?" the girl innocently asked.

"ANBU is a special group of people that protect Konoha from outside and inside harm. You can think of us as high-level security force." Kakashi explained to the girl patiently. "They stand for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai."

"That's cool. I want to be an ANBU when I grow up." The little girl beamed at him and Kakashi couldn't help but to smile back. "How do you become an ANBU?" Reiko asked.

"Well, first, you have to enroll in a ninja academy and if you graduate the academy, you become a Genin. As a Genin, you perform easy missions and once you are good enough and pass a certain exam called Chunin exam, you become a Chunin. As a Chunin, you will perform harder mission and prove yourself. When a higher-up thinks you are good enough, you get a challenge and if you can manage the challenge, you become a Jounin. To be an ANBU, you have to be at least Jounin level, even if your ranking isn't. ANBUs are specially chosen by the Hokage regardless of their rank, age, gender, and past." Kakashi explained, a small smile forming on his lips as he watched the little girl absorb all the information he just told her.

"That's... that's cool. I'll be the best ANBU there is when I grow up and I'll meet you again." Reiko chirped in her high-pitched voice and jumped up and down.

Kakashi simply watched the childish innocence of the little girl and wished she would never have to become an ANBU and have to live through all the horrors of the reality. He truly wished she would never lose her innocence and spirit. As they approached the orphanage, Kakashi's heart seemed to weigh down by the gruesome details of ANBU missions. He didn't want such a spirit like Reiko's to be crushed to the ground.

"Well, here we are. This is the orphanage you are going to stay until you are old enough to move out on your own, Reiko." Kakashi told her.

"Will I see you again?" Reiko asked, her gray eyes looking straight into his dark blue eyes.

Kakashi hesitated for a moment. He knew seeing her will be difficult due to his ANBU missions but he didn't want to crush her spirits.

"Yes. You'll see me again." Kakashi made sure not to specify when he will see her again and he just hoped that the observant girl missed this little fact.

"Okay. Bye. See you later." Reiko took her small belongings and ran inside the orphanage. Kakashi just watched as she disappeared through the door, her indigo black hair flying behind her.

"Bye, Reiko." Kakashi whispered and he turned on his heels. As he walked back to the ANBU Headquarters, all he could think about was the childish carefree joy that somehow managed to survive in the little girl.

* * *

Reiko explored the orphanage, her curious eyes absorbing the sight before her. The orphanage was well polished despite its obvious age and she ran toward the voices that she could faintly hear. Reiko soon found a small room which was furnished like her dad's office. There was a lady sitting at the desk who was talking with two well-dressed people. Reiko waited until they were finished talking and the two came out. She slipped inside the office and went up to the desk lady.

"Excuse me? I'm Reiko Okubo and I just arrived at this orphanage. An ANBU named Kakashi walked me here. What am I suppose to do now?" Reiko asked with gaiety in her eyes.

"Ah, you must be the orphan from the recent massacre. You are…" the lady scanned a file before her and looked at her again, "two years old, right?"

"Yes. Two weeks ago, I turned two." Reiko told her.

"Well, you will be staying in the second floor at room 205. Atoka here will lead you to your room." The lady kindly told her.

A tall boy in baggy clothes sauntered into the room as the desk lady finished speaking and scanned the room with bored expression. His eyes caught the little girl who was clutching at a oversized teddy bear and looking at him with curious expression. He let out a sigh as he approached the girl.

"Thank you." Reiko told the lady before she left with the boy.

"I'm Atoka and I'm like the hall monitor of the orphanage. You will call me Atoka-san. You have to listen to whatever I say for I have all the power and you don't." The boy told Reiko in hard voice.

"Ye… yes, Atoka-san." Reiko stuttered. She didn't know what it was but she could feel a dangerous aura off him, as if he was holding some kind of grudge against her. But then, she didn't know much about outside world and maybe this was how everyone was like. Maybe the desk lady and Kakashi-san was just an exception.

Reiko arrived in front of a worn down door. The wooden door had numerous scratches on it and sharp objects were sticking out of random places. As carefully as she can, she grabbed the handle without cutting herself and she twisted the knob. The wooden door opened with creaking sound and a nearly bare room met her eyes. There was only a hard wooden bed in a corner and a desk in the opposite corner. The window was curtain-less and was stained with rust. Reiko calmly accepted the room and thanked Atoka-san for showing her the room. Atoka just rolled his eyes at her as though he thought she was stupid and left the room without acknowledging her gratitude.

In the next couple days, Reiko met others in the orphanage. Many were older than her by at least couple years and they all looked down at her. They made her do servant's work and laughed at her as she scurried past them. The desk lady, however, never seemed to notice the little antics.

In just a week after Reiko arrived, Reiko was already in the lowest status of the orphanage. She was picked on by variety of kids and was always the victim of everything.

Reiko took all the bullying with serene expression which made the others get even more determined to break the child's unperturbed serenity. It was on this one fateful day that changed Reiko's life upside down.

* * *

"Reiko, I want you to scrub the rust off my window. I want it crystal clean and when I say crystal clean, I _mean_ crystal clean." Akota sauntered up to Reiko and poked her bony right shoulder.

Reiko didn't get enough to eat for the orphanage rationed only little bit and what little bit she had was always taken away by the older kids. All she got to eat was licking up the bottom of her porridge bowl and little crumbs of bread lying on the table. Reiko always had lean body and without enough nourishment, her body became bony in a week.

"Yes, Akota-san." Reiko complied without any defiance.

As she walked up to Akota's room, Akota glared at the retreating figure of Reiko who was so serene and composed. No matter what Akota and his friends tried, Reiko's royal aura was never breached. Her emotions were always held in check and she wore the serene air around wherever she went.

"That stupid little brat. One would think that she's the queen of the world." Akota spat the word 'queen' as though it was acid on his tongue.

While Reiko was busy scrubbing, the others in the orphanage were outside playing. As she scrubbed the rust off the window, she noticed that everyone outside seemed to have friends. She felt sorry for Akota who never played with anyone.

_'He must get really lonely sometimes. Maybe that's why he feels a need to order someone around. Really, I should be grateful I didn't have to go through the things he does. I know how hard it is to be without friends but I'm more used to it since I was always kept inside my family's mansion.'_ Reiko mused to herself as she concentrated on her work.

Akota watched the little girl scrubbing hard on his window, rust falling away like autumn leaves. He hated that serene expression on her face, that ethereal composure that she held herself. No matter what kind of lowly work she did, she did it with such royal grace that everything was regal.

Akota then felt a surge of hatred for the little two-year-old girl shoot through his veins. He was an unwanted child between an alcoholic and a prostitute. He was never wanted in his life and his mother abandoned him as soon as she could, not leaving him a single thing that he could call it his own. That girl now sitting on his window scrubbing the rust had the royalty in her and her stately composure annoyed him to no end.

Akota could feel himself walk silently toward her and he couldn't control his body. His long sun-brown arms reached out in front of him and… he pushed Reiko off the window.

Reiko was falling. Akota's room was at the top of the orphanage, at least six stories high. She didn't know who but someone pushed her off the window. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and she let herself get caught off guard. Now the consequence of not paying enough attention was death. Then, she felt a strange jolt run through her body and it felt warm in her veins. She was amazed that she could kind of control it. All she was thinking of at the time was trying not to die and she focused on not falling, her stately composure coming back into play.

Reiko could feel the wind rushing past her cheek and she knew she would hit the ground soon. She willed herself to not fall, to right herself before she was slammed into the ground and the feeling in her veins started creeping to the back of her body and her feet. Reiko could feel herself get uprighted and as the ground moved fast to meet her, the strange feeling at her feet seemed to push the ground away from her. She landed with feline grace despite the height she fell and stood up straight, observing the playground.

The orphanage kids started pointing at her and they started whispering to themselves.

"Did you see that…"

"She's a monster…"

"no… she's a demon…"

"Don't go near her…"

"what is she?"

"She's a witch."

Reiko didn't understand. All she did was save herself from getting killed and now others were whispering about her. She looked around and her gray eyes locked with brown eyes that were looking at her with fear.

"Get away from me, you witch." The boy suddenly screamed at her.

Reiko wasn't sure what was going on. One moment she was falling to her death and when she narrowly missed dying, bunch of kids were calling her with weird names. She could feel the hostility radiating from them and she slowly backed away into a tree.

"Witch!" another boy screamed at her and threw small rock at her. Reiko quickly dodged and the rock bounced off the tree where her right eye was just a moment ago, leaving a small gash on her upper right cheek.

More and more rocks were thrown at her along with some names and Reiko started running away. She didn't understand why the kids were doing it and she was scared. Her little body which was spotted with blood from couple spots where the rock got her ached and the adrenaline rush was the only thing that kept her going. She wasn't watching where she was going and she ran into an old man.

Reiko looked up at the old man and found him to be bandaged on his head and over his right eye. The old man helped her up and looked at her with curious expression. He had seen her fall down the six-story building and land with feline grace. He wondered who she was.

"My name is Reiko. Reiko Okubo." Reiko quickly told the man, curious at why the man would want to know her name.

The old man's showing eye widened at the mention of her last name and Reiko could see a small surprise flittingly pass through the eye. The surprise was gone as quickly as it came and the man asked her if she would accompany him in a walk.

"Uh, sure." The little two-year-old Reiko answered, unsure as why an old man that she just met would want to take a walk with her.

They started walking through the woods in silence, the old man's one showing eye watching like a hawk every movement Reiko made. Reiko started to feel uncomfortable under such intense gaze but she kept up her stately composure, her royal breeding showing despite the rags that she was wearing at the moment. Her serene expression didn't betray a single emotion and she just waited calmly for the old man to start talking.

"My name is Danzo and I have a couple questions for you. I've seen you fall through the six-story high building and still manage to land with such grace. Have you ever had any training for shinobi or anything?" the old man who just introduced himself as Danzo asked.

"Well, I'm not sure what you mean by training but I've never had any martial arts training before. This is the first time I actually had to do anything physical." Reiko answered truthfully, her curious mind wondering why the old man was asking her such weird questions.

"Well, that was some excellent chakra control you just showed today." Danzo told Reiko.

"Chakra?" Reiko asked, her puny brain trying to search through her memory for anything that was related to the strange word she just heard.

"Chakra is a mixture of the physical energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience. Once mixed, it can be channeled through the chakra circulatory system, which is to chakra as the regular circulatory system is to blood, to any of the 361 chakra points called tenketsu in the body. Through various methods, the most common of which is hand seals, the chakra can then be manipulated to create an effect that would not be possible otherwise, such as walking on water. Your case is somewhat special. Normally one should not be able to break such a fall without a hand seal but somehow, you managed to manipulate your chakra to break your fall without a hand seal." Danzo explained, a nearly non-existent smile playing around his mouth.

"Wow. That is so cool." Reiko looked amazed by the information Danzo just told her. "Can I learn how to control them too?" Reiko asked.

"Yes. Actually, I want to ask you if you would be one of my students. I am the leader of a group of top-secret ANBU called Foundation or more commonly called Root and I want you to join." Danzo told her with gloating smile in his eyes.

Reiko's ears perked up at the sound of ANBU and especially at top-secret ANBU.

"Wait, you want me to joint ANBU? But don't I have to go to academy and become Chunin or Jounin or whatever that things is to become an ANBU?" Reiko asked, confusion clear on her face.

"You have heard of ANBU?" Danzo raised his eyebrow as he looked at the little two-year-old with amused smile.

"Well, this ANBU who walked me to the orphanage when I first arrived told me a bit about ANBU. I think they are cool and I want to be an ANBU when I grow up." Reiko told Danzo.

"Why not now? I promise to make you better than average Jounins in two years. I think you have great potential in you." Danzo told her.

"Sure. When do I start?" Reiko asked, her expression in one of a joy.

"First, we have to move your things to your new accommodation. Since ANBU Foundation is kept as top secret, all our members stay in designated accommodation block." Danzo told her, his eyes gleaming in anticipation.

"Awesome. I don't have to live with all the other boys anymore." Reiko jumped in joy.

Reiko soon moved her small possession to her new accommodation block. The room was medium sized and looked empty – a single bed in a corner, a desk in the opposite corner. There were shelves with some scrolls and books and other than those, the room was completely empty. It was white and cold – it made Reiko feel chilled to the bone – but she ignored the feeling and proceeded with moving in.

* * *

In only a week, her Konatsu-chan was taken away from her along with all her personal belongings. She at first fought valiantly but after repeated training, she became an ANBU drone. Extreme training with Danzo's direct supervising soon made Reiko a ruthless ANBU. She was easily the best and in just a couple months, she was better than most Chunins. After each training session, Danzo went to his room, his gleeful smirk on his face as he watched Reiko walk back to her room, the childish gaiety long gone from her face.

As Reiko got better and better, Danzo made her training sessions longer. Even though she was still only two, she slept three to four hours a day and trained the entire day if she didn't have any missions. At the end of sixth month she was recruited into ANBU Root, she was a completely different person. Danzo discovered that Reiko's chakra is easily ten times the others for some strange reason and he started really drilling her, making her use up all her chakra by the end of the day. Despite this entire nightmare, Reiko's stoic face never betrayed a single emotion, having killed off all her feelings in the first few months with Danzo.

Danzo knew he was completely using her but he didn't care. Reiko was a useful weapon for him, being an immense chakra storage and very talented. He was became more ecstatic as Reiko grew colder, stronger, and emptier.

Danzo had easier time in getting rid of Reiko's past and emotions than any other for Reiko was very young. All he had to do is just probe in Reiko's mind and put block on certain things that couldn't be suppressed. He made Reiko do heartless things that soon made her into a drone. In automatic self-preservation, Reiko learned to suppress her emotions as she was punished for showing emotions. Also, having emotions made her tear up inside and she soon learned that not feeling emotion stopped her from feeling the tear in her heart.

Reiko turned three and she became known as one of the deadliest ANBU. Reiko went on solo S-rank missions and always returned unscathed and emotionless. She had her first kill three months after her second birthday in cold blood and she didn't feel anything now. She wore Fenikkusu(meaning phoenix) mask, a white mask with yellow beak and red decorations with bits of blue. The black lines outlined the decoration, making them look even fiercer. She was known as the Fenikkusu of death.

The gray eyes of Reiko which once held innocence and hope was gone, only to be replaced with deadened look. She was truly the definition of walking dead.

**

* * *

****Thanks for reading guys. This chapter completely belongs to me including all the characters except the original Naruto characters like Kakashi Hatake and Danzo. I hope you all liked it and post some reviews. I want to know what you guys think of this chapter. I would really appreciate constructive criticism.**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**


	5. Chapter 2: I Kano

**Hey guys. The second chapter part I is up. I'll post the part II really soon. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy it. (and I'm sorry if you guys in any way feels that my story is depressing. Well, it is kind of depressing in the first few chapters and up but I'll try to lighten things up a little later on. Maybe when I get to some romantic scenes, I might make the tone much lighter.) Anyways, thanks for reading and I know it's not really that good but for reading it anyways, you have my gratitude.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**

**

* * *

Chapter 2: Kano**

* * *

**_"The past is the past… and the future is the future. A man is a man, and a woman is a woman. I am who I am, and you are who you are. Like it really matters anyway…"-Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop)_**

_**"For it is a land of illusion, a place in the mind, a shimmering mirage of riches and mystery and death. These illusions have distorted its landscape and contorted its history." - Richard E. Lingenfelter**_

**

* * *

II**

_The 5 gates. To me, they were part of my mind, nothing more. But they were more important than that. It's like what I said. They were part of my mind, locked forever until I broke free. And only then, when I could truthfully say that I could go to the deepest parts of my mind, that I could go beyond that. Beyond my mind. But what exactly is after the mind? That's not important right now. But they will be._

_Don't be fooled by my seemingly innocence. Because I don't trust you, the reader of this book, to know everything yet. But as an act of trust, I'll give you a taste of my past. And of my future._

_If you think you can't take it anymore, then just stop where you are and run. Run far far away where hopefully none of this will catch up with you. Maybe you will be luckier than I ever was. Maybe you will be luckier than Reiko was. If you can't take it, it's fine with me. I really don't care anyways._

_But one thing will always remain the same. This is the real world and face it or run. What you live in is only an illusion and you probably won't like it. It's really too bad if you can't take it. This is the reality, this is the Truth._

_-Naruto_

_

* * *

_

_**"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live." - Mark Twain**_

_**"Illusion is the first of all the pleasures." - Voltaire**_

_**"Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces." - Sigmund Freud**_

_**"It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it." - Patrick Henry**_

_

* * *

You know what? I'm going to let you have a taste of my life but don't come crying to me when you can't take it anymore. It's the truth and face it. You asked for it and now you are going to get it. Me? I'm nothing. I'm a weapon, I do not exist. I have a name but it really isn't me. I do not have a name. I do not have an identity. I fight and I kill and I die for the sake of Konoha. I am a weapon and I'm warning you right now. You. Don't. Want. To. Know. Me._

_I don't know what Konoha is. To me, Konoha is just another master that I work for. I am the personal weapon of Konoha, the one to be disposed at anytime, the one that she can turn her back on. Why? I was raised that way. You might think you've heard of me but let me just get one thing straight. You. Don't. Know. Me. and you never will._

_Am I happy? Some of you ask. Well to tell you the truth, I don't know. I don't know and I don't want to know. All I know is this, the present. I am the tool of Konoha and I guess you could say I'm happy. But as I said before, it doesn't really matter. After all, I don't exist._

_-Reiko_

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_

**_"I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is." - Alan Watts_**

_**"We must select the illusion which appeals to our temperament and embrace it with passion, if we want to be happy." - Cyril Connolly**_

_**

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**_**I really apologize if you think all my part ones are boring. I just think it really spices up the chapter (especially with the depressing tone) and sets up the theme. Besides, I'm having so much fun having little Naruto and Reiko write depressing things that kids should never learn. But I always liked when odds are stacked and especially when the protagonist actually breaks down. I always thought and think it really puts the force into the story. Thanks for enduring my story.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**


	6. Chapter 2: II Naruto: A Friend

**Tada. Here it is. The second part of chapter two. I think this is really well written (since it's not by me by it's by BlackPANDA xD) and I'm pretty sure all of you guys will enjoy it a LOT. This is basically talking about Naruto's past (ish).**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto and this chapter belongs to BlackPANDA xD, not me. As much as I wish I can write like this, I can't so that's just too bad. I guess I'm going to have to deal with it.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**

**

* * *

Chapter 2: Naruto's Story**

…_.Where.. Am I?_

Naruto opened his eyes, and what he saw wasn't exactly what he expected. He was in a sewer-like hallway, with water sloshing around his knees. _(A/N It is suppose to be at his ankles but he's only 6 and he's short)_The creepiest thing about the place was the walls; the darkest black, cracked and peeling at many places like badly covered paint. A thick red substance, looking suspiciously like blood, oozed down from the walls, only to dry up before it reached the waters. The wall itself had many pipes, colored blue, red, and black, traveling above it, the dark colors rushing inside it in frenzied waves. The colors, it seemed, lit up the hall in a dim, light purple tint. Looking up, the wall went as high as he could see, as it seemed to go deep into the darkness.

All in all, the place had a dark and intimidating miasma around it. Naruto, with a jolt, realized that he was in his mind, and was shocked. This wasn't exactly what he thought his mind would look like. He wasn't even sure why he was in his mind or how he got here. All he knew was that he was here.

Nevertheless, Naruto was nervous, but bravely waded through the water, continuing down the hallway. As he walked, he kept silent, the only sound was the disturbed water echoing in the dark hall. It seemed like forever yet only seconds later when the hall split into different directions.

Now, Naruto had no idea what to do. The hall had split into 5 different ways, but it seemed like as if there were large chains on 3 of them, leaving him with 2 choices.

The right one positioned at three o'clock was, to say the least, intimidating. It was bathed in a reddish glow, which seemed to pulse exactly like a heartbeat. Naruto sweat dropped as he looked at it, and steadied himself before looking at the other open way, hoping it wasn't worse.

The other open path positioned at nine o'clock was long and straight, and looked completely ordinary. Well, other than the fact that it was calling to him, because when he took a step towards it, whispers filled his ears, and although he couldn't understand what the whispers they were seemingly trying to tell him, he felt a strange pull towards it.

Which to choose? Left or right? Good or evil? The choice of which path he would take would decide his destiny forever… Okay, that was a bit melodramatic, but _seriously._The path with freaky whispering voices in his ears, or the one bathed in a blood red glow, pulsing like it was alive. Naruto sighed with frustration.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto turned left towards the hallway with the voices, hoping to whatever God there was in the shinobi world, that he made the right choice.

Trudging through the hallway was easier than expected. All he had to do was tune out the voices, and the path didn't seem half-bad. Whistling a tune to drown out the voices, he faltered slightly when he recognized the tune. It was a lullaby. Soft yet melancholic…

**FLASHBACK**

I was stupid at that age. Stupid enough to believe everything they said. Stupid enough to believe that it would get better, that my entire life was just a stupid, stupid nightmare.

At that time, I still had my innocence. My childish curiosity.

Waking up in the middle of the night was normal. I guess it became normal, since I was an insomniac. I never did tell oji-san about it, he never knew that my nightmares happened every night.

People always wanted to live their dreams. I got mine in a twisted way. If I always dreamt of blood, of pain, of ignorance, and the same thing happened when I was awake, then, of course, I'm living my dreams, aren't I?

Like I said, I was stupid. A stupid 4 year old. One who cried every night, wishing to every single star in the night sky for something, just for anything to happen that was completely different from my world. Now, I know better. I know that a God won't help me. I know that crying is just a waste of your tears. It doesn't help, just makes you more depressed than you were before.

I guess it was around that time that I bought a knife. It wasn't anything special, just a normal kunai from the second-hand store. I guess I was fascinated about it. How the blood dripping down my arms contrasted so smoothly against my skin. The pain just a small price to the beauty of the colors. Soon, it became normal; like my insomnia. Normal enough that I took it to the next level. Oji-san would've been proud, I spelled my first word that day:

**D.**

**E.**

**M.**

**O.**

**N.**

Words were harder to do then a single line, it's like trying to draw a perfect circle on the wall using a nail. You may be wondering, why, though? Why words? Wasn't it more painful? Didn't it leave scars? Scars that would probably stay there for the rest of your life, constantly reminding you of your stupidity? I did it for one reason and one reason only.

Childish curiosity, remember?

But then, the 'anything' I had wished for happened. It was the middle of the night, the moonlight peering onto the bed through the cracked window. At that moment, the most random thing happened. Someone was playing a guitar. Whoever it was, he or she was really good, the notes plucked expertly. The first song he/she played was always that same lullaby, so delicately beautiful and the most heartbreaking.

I never listened to the other songs that person played, if he or she even had any. I was fast asleep by that time.

If I was still awake at that time, I would've noticed that my kunai was missing. But strangely enough, I never noticed it was gone after I slept. For the first time in days, I might add.

That anonymous musician with a fetish for moonlight guitar playing was probably the key to my humanity at that age. Sometimes, I wondered why he would play on the roof of my apartment of all places. Maybe… I had thought. Maybe he was there because he knew what others didn't; he knew that I was sinking into a depression hidden from everybody else. Then, my curiosity would act up again, and there were many times during the night that I had argued whether or not to going up there to meet him.

But then the music would play, and I'd fall fast asleep before that thought even ended. And you know what? I think he did that on purpose.

**FLASHBACK END**

It was only after a few seconds that Naruto realized what he was looking at. Scrawled out over his left arm was the same scar he had engraved on himself, on his own skin. _Demon._Long white bandages, the ones usually wrapped around his arm to hide the scar had fluttered lazily to the ground, floating on top of the murky water.

Naruto remembered when he had done it. It was the first time he had really noticed his healing factor, the way the cuts just seemed to close right in front of his eyes. He was obsessed with the pain, and kept digging into his skin, over and over and over again, until the scar had finally became permanent. The only testimony to his childhood, the only visible scar proof of his stupidity.

'…_do you have what we seek?'_

Just then, straight in front of him, Naruto saw something move, startling him out of his thoughts. He blinked furiously, trying to locate it again. Naruto made a choking sound of surprise as the deep dark space a few metres in front of him glowed suddenly with a dark yet warm light, somehow contrasting to the despairing blackness around him. It pulsated, like the slow heartbeat of a sleeping child, a steady glow that basked Naruto in a kind of warmth.

At that split second, the voices suddenly grew louder, echoing loudly in Naruto's ears, nearly making him buckle his knees.

'_If I was only there faste-'_

'_-protect your precio-'_

'_-been nice, k-'_

'_Get the hell off he-'_

'_I can't te-'_

'_-mi-san will have a shit about thi-'_

'_-mile for yourself-'_

"SHUT UP!" Naruto shouted, his hands over his ears. Miraculously, the whispers stopped, leaving a dead silence in the room. Naruto looked around with a dubious look, still disbelieved that that had actually worked.

The breath got caught in his throat as a blade found its way to his throat, appearing there fast as lightning. Or at least, he thinks it was a blade. The only thing he saw was the hilt out of the corner of his eye. Despite the urgency of the situation, he couldn't help but admire the work; the hilt was a silvery grey color, shimmering in the glow of the light. Thin but strong vine-like threads of silver wound its way up the invisible blade in an intricate pattern while two long ribbons of pure black silk fell down from the base of the hilt, completing the look.

Naruto was pulled out of his admiring by gentle voices, the words caressing into his ear, different from the loud echoes from before, as if it to compensate for his protest earlier. The blade dug deeper into his skin, drawing a bead of blood.

'…_do you have what we seek?'_

**~xXx~**

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Jiraiya's left eye twitched every second as he stared anxiously at the small figure in the hospital bed. It's been 2 days since that night, and he had practically never left his side, not even for peeking at the new hot springs that had just opened up.

….Okay, that was pushing it, but still, if Tsunade saw how the mighty Jiraiya has fallen to one of an anxious, fretful mother, she's be laughing her butt off and what a sexy butt that was too.

Naruto's breath hitched a bit, and his eyebrows furrowed in pain, catching Jiraiya's attention. He sighed, going deeper into a depressed slump, staring blankly at his godson's well-featured face, so much like his father's. Naruto's slightly tanned skin was ghoulishly white from all the blood loss and he looked ghastly.

Jiraiya got up slowly from the bedside. All of this pessimistic thinking was really going to get back at him one day, just as long as it wouldn't be wrinkles. Giving an involuntary yawn, Jiraiya staggered to the room door, intent on getting some coffee.

He was sauntering over to the cafeteria when he passed through the medication desks. His eyes raised up a notch as he recognized the person standing in front of it. Could it be..?

"Dammit, I just need some more painkillers! Lost the last bottle yesterday," called the exasperated voice of Taichi from the front desk. Oh yes, he was going to enjoy this.

Quick as a flash, Jiraiya appeared behind Taichi, who froze in fear, a kunai directed at his crotch.

"Hellooo, Taichi-san, remember me?" Jiraiya whispered in his ear, a crazy glint appearing in his eye. Taichi yelped in terror before fainting straight away, a distinct dark patch forming on his pants. Jiraiya ignored the shocked look of the hospital clerk, shaking his head in disappointment. _This_ was a Konoha chunin? He was almost too disgusted to even use chakra to finish him off….

_Almost._

'_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!'_Jiraiya said mentally as he bit his finger, and with practiced ease, quickly formed the hand seals before slamming it on to the ground, intricate seals forming from his hands.

Poof. A bright yellow frog roughly the size of Jiraiya appeared. He waved lazily at Jiraiya with a webbed hand, looked down at the sprawled unconscious form lying down beside him, and looked back up at him with amusement.

He gave Jiraiya one last one-armed salute before sticking out his tongue, wrapping it roughly around the unconscious body, exceedingly careful not to touch the pants. The hospital nurses looked at the scene with a stupefied expression as the toad slowly spun in full circles, gaining momentum with every spin. Suddenly, he let go of the body in midspin, and Taichi crashing through a wall with a loud crash, and sailed away into the horizon.

Jiraiya shielded his eyes from the sun with one hand, gazing at the quickly disappearing dot in the sky with a sigh of contentment before walking briskly to the front of the cafeteria line, dispatching the summon frog simultaneously. The people behind him were smart enough not to protest.

"One black coffee, please!" Jiraiya said cheerfully, slamming the coins onto the front counter.

The cashier took one look at the crumbling wall, and another at the grinning sannin, before dashing away to fill his order, forgetting the coins on the counter.

Later, rejuvenated by the caffeine, Jiraiya stretched and headed back to the cafeteria line, intent on getting some onigiri, the half finished coffee held loosely in one hand. Being wide awake was such a wonderful thing, for it gave him optimism. :D! The sun was shining, (through the hole in the wall) the birds were chirping, and who knows? Maybe Naruto would wake up tod-

CRASH!

A small red blur suddenly crashed into his backside, and with a silent cry of dismay, Jiraiya watched horrified as his coffee fell out of his grasp, falling down onto the ground with a dramatic thump.

Jiraiya turned around, anime tears in his eyes, and was about to give the stranger a piece of his mind when his eyes widened in recognition.

"YOU!"

"Oh! Jiraiya-sama!"

Sprawled on the ground, grinning ear to ear, was the same boy Jiraiya had bumped into 2 days ago on that night, still wearing that familiar blue cap over his spiky black hair. He bowed low, nearly touching the ground.

"Gomen! Gomen! You see, I wasn't watching where I was going, actually I do that a lot." he chatted animatedly, still facing the ground. "Why yesterday, I bumped into Kaa-san while doing the laundry, and- oh! Jiraiya-sama!"

Jiraiya turned away briskly, trying to escape the babbling boy. With a groan, he realized he was following him, the boy literally skipping to keep pace. Suddenly, the kid's legs got tangled together, and he let out a yelp as he crashed into the floor. Eyebrows raised, Jiraiya glanced at the laughing boy- _laughing_, he was actually laughing!- before continuing walking, trying to hide an amused smile in his hand.

Jiraiya had no idea why the kid made him worry. Other than Naruto, he had wondered if the kid had managed to get home safely. That night, he looked scared shitless, his red eyes wide with fear. It was probably his first time seeing so much blood… Now it seemed that he was back to his real self, though he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

They waited in the cafeteria line in a peaceful silence…. Just after that thought ended, the boy began shifting from right to left, humming a cheerful tune. Desperate to shut him up,- the boy was getting adoring looks from the nurses- Jiraiya asked him the first question that popped in his head.

"Oi, gaki. What exactly are you doing in a hospital?" Jiraiya asked.

The 'gaki' spun around energetically on his heels, before giving Jiraiya a thumbs-up. "I'm visiting Naruto-kun!"

Jiraiya looked at the kid in a new light, genuinely happy that Naruto had a good friend like him. Well, as long as his overloaded amount of hyperness didn't rub off of Naruto… A hyper Naruto, combined with his above average amount of endurance, would be a total nightmare… But still, the kid seemed like a good friend, Naruto hasn't had a single visitor apart from himself and Saruto-

"I mean I haven't met him before, but he seems like a nice guy!" Well, that thought just went down the drain.

Just then, the duo reached the counter, and as Jiraiya began to think of what kind of onigiri he would get, he asked the boy another question.

"If you're visiting Naruto… What are you doing in the cafeteria?"

The boy blushed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, I rushed here this morning, and skipped breakfast." With that reply, he sauntered up beside Jiraiya, standing on his tips of his toes to peer over the counter. Suddenly, he gave an exclaim of surprise.

"Sugoi! They have 5 different flavors of ramen here!" The boy jumped up and down in joy, before turning to the cashier lady, who was looking at him with hearts in her eyes. "Ano… Two bowls of your finest chicken-no, _pork_-no, miso ramen please, Cashier Lady-san!"

He dug deep into his pockets, before opening his hands, revealing…. Lint. The boy stared blankly at his hand, before looking up at Jiraiya, his red eyes sparkling in a sudden light.

Jiraiya's eyes twitched, his eyes averted. But even man cannot withstand the puppy eye jutsu, and he half-heartedly gave him a few coins. The cashier lady happily accepted the coins, before handing over the 2 bowls of ramen.

Jiraiya stared in astonishment at the size of the bowls. One alone was equal to the size of the boy's head. How was he going to finish two?

"Do you really think you can finish two, gaki?" Jiraiya exclaimed, voicing his thoughts out loud.

"No way, Jiraiya-sama! One is for me, and one is for Naruto-kun, because, y'know, he just woke up," the boy cheerfully told him.

"_WHAT?"_

Jiraiya sped off in the direction of Naruto's room, leaving the boy with a sense of déjà vu at seeing the quickly retreating figure. The smell of the ramen soon distracted him, though, and he took a delicate sip at the broth.

"Nyaa, it's still hot,"

**~xXx~**

Jiraiya opened the door with an audible creak, and poked his head inside. His heart felt as though it was getting punctured by multiple kunais when he saw Naruto flinch at seeing him, but he masked it with a large smile.

"Ano…. I think I remember you, you saved me, ne?" Naruto pressed. "Arigatou, mister, umm…"

Jiraiya sat down heavily onto the chair beside the bed, running a hand through his shaggy white hair. Best get it over with now than later on. He stared nervously at the tiled floor.

"I'm… your godfather."

At seeing Naruto's blank look, Jiraiya mentally panicked, a chibi version inside his head screaming hysterically while running around in circles. What was he, stupid? He just had to be blunt, didn't he?

"I see, what's your name?" Naruto calmly asked, his expression still unreadable on his blank face.

Whatever Jiraiya expected, it wasn't that. He whipped his head around to meet Naruto's curious blue eyes, shocked that there wasn't a single bit of hatred, or resentment in them.

"Aren't you… mad?" Jiraiya gaped in shock. "I mean… You've had the shittiest childhood in your life, your supposed guardian came only after _7 years,_and all you can say is _what's your name?"_he babbled. "I'm probably the worst fuckin' godfather in the world, I've ignored you, I've failed your father and-"

If Naruto was shocked at his swear words, he didn't show it. He just smiled genuinely, interrupting Jiraiya in mid-babble. "Uh, I can tell by your au- I mean, your speech thing, that you're feeling guilty about it. It's okay, really! It wasn't t-that bad. Ano, you must've had a reason for not being there." _For me._

Jiraiya could hear the underlying words in that sentence, and the stutter at the end really didn't help the squirming in his stomach. Nevertheless, he gave a shaky grin at Naruto, which was returned.

"My name is Jiraiya," he grinned, deciding to leave out the 'other titles.' And with the way Naruto had just nodded in response, he most likely never heard of him anyway, Jiraiya added with a disappointed sigh.

"Soo…" Naruto began, looking at his newly proclaimed Godfather. "You said something about my father, right? What was he like?"

Although slightly panicked at the question, Jiraiya chuckled enthusiastically. "Your father… He was such a cool guy to hang out with. He had an air of respect around him, yet could put you at ease at the same time. He was cheerful nearly 24/7, and had this infectious grin so much like yours."

Naruto had a stunned look on his face, and smiled. "Really?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, in fact you share a lot of his qualities," Jiraiya laughed. "You even have the same love of ramen that he does."

Naruto smiled briefly before looked at Jiraiya in confusion. "How did you know that?" he asked.

"I actually know a lot about you," Jiraiya confessed, looking up at the ceiling. "I asked Sarutobi to tell me all about you. He'd send me letters every week, so I'd know what's happening back here. I know your likes and dislikes, how tall you're getting, and that horrible orange suit you wear all the time."

"Hey! I happen to like orange!" Naruto playfully puckered his mouth in adorable pout as he protested.

Jiraiya laughed at the pout on his face, which Naruto soon joined into a few seconds later. After their laughter died out, there was a pause of silence, before Naruto asked another question, this one much quieter.

"How did… they die?"

Jiraiya looked back at his godson, wondering how to answer that. That question had probably haunted Naruto for years. He must've wondered at some time in his life why he was an orphan. Did they die in battle? Or did they leave him willingly, too cowardly to take care of a child? Jiraiya decided to tell him the truth, or at least, part of it.

"It was during the kyuubi invasion 7 years ago… Your mother…. She died during childbirth and your father managed to get to see you just before he joined the battle. His body was never found." Jiraiya smiled sadly, looking at Naruto. "They were really excited about you... When they found out that they were going to have a son, your mother was screaming so loudly, hugging your father and dancing with joy."

Naruto stared at Jiraiya in silence, before breaking out in a slowly forming smile, putting those words to memory. His parents hadn't abandoned him, they were happy to have a son, happy to have a family. For the first time, Naruto felt proud of his parents.

Naruto was about to ask another question when there was a knock at the door. Of all the people to come in, he really didn't expect a boy wearing a blue cap he had never met before to come in. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he gave a dramatic gasp of surprise at seeing what he was holding: ramen!

The boy waved energetically at Naruto, nearly dropping the ramen bowls in the process. He gestured frantically to the bowls, and an amused Jiraiya took them from him, and he collapsed onto the ground.

"Whew! Do you know how heavy those things are? And I still had to walk EXTRA carefully so that I wouldn't spill." he huffed in annoyance, before grinning at Naruto.

"Hi, Naruto-kun, how are you today?"

At seeing Naruto's confused expression, Jiraiya rolled his eyes before introducing them. "Naruto, this is the gaki that told me where to find you. Naruto, this is…" Jiraiya paused, before looking at the kid. "Wait… What's your name again, kid?"

The kid smiled slyly under the blue cap he wore. "Sorry, Kaa-san said not to talk to strangers!" he said, sticking his tongue out at Jiraiya.

"Hey, what happened to Jiraiya-sama!"

"Gomen, gomen. But Kaa-san said that all old people are strangers, even if they seem nice to you," The boy replied innocently. "She said, and I quote, old men are horny, drunk, and perverted bastards."

Jiraiya stared down at him. Well, he couldn't compete with that logic. Sighing, he checked the time, and with a jolt, he realized he was almost late for a meeting with Sarutobi. Jiraiya gave Naruto one last ruffle on his head, ignoring his protests.

"I gotta go for a bit, kid. But I'll come back, okay?"

Naruto nodded, and Jiraiya disappeared in a whirl of leaves, leaving the two together.

"How are you feeling, ne?" The kid said, bouncing towards the chair Jiraiya had previously occupied. Naruto blinked at his hyperness, but answered the question nonetheless.

"Actually," Naruto said, stretching his arms. "I hardly feel a thing." The kid, if it was possible, smiled wider, and Naruto was surprised at the genuine relief he felt from him.

"So anyway," Naruto began curiously. "Why are you here? I mean, thanks and all for helping me from before… but I really hardly know you."

The kid leaned back into his chair, dramatically stroking an imaginary beard on his chin. "Truthfully, all I could think about the entire day was about the blood, the sickening sounds of knives cutting through you, the smell of burnt flesh…." he answered quietly, his eyes in a faraway expression.

Naruto shivered, he could practically feel the despair pulsing out from him in waves. Not to mention that his fairly descriptive words brought back unpleasant memories. There appeared to be more to the bubbly boy than it seemed.

"I HAD to make sure you were okay, or else my mind would've gone crazy," he continued, spinning the chair to meet Naruto's eyes. Red met blue. For the first time, Naruto saw the deep seriousness in those eyes, and for just one moment, he felt something black, _completely black_, from him, but it was gone a split second later.

Suddenly, the kid smiled cheerfully, and the serious moment was gone. "Well, at first I just wanted to check in and say hi, but you seem like a cool guy." He paused, then widened his eyes. "Hey, that rhymed."

"Wait…" Naruto began slowly, in both awe and shock. "You want to be friends or something….?" The kid bobbed his head as an answer. Trying to hide the warm feeling in his chest, Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Truthfully… I've never exactly had a friend before…."

Instead of looking at him with a pitying look, as Naruto feared him to do, he just aaahed loudly before saying, "WEEELLLL, it starts like this." He jumped enthusiastically out of his chair in front of Naruto, surprising him.

"The name's Kano!" He said, reaching out a hand. Naruto hesitated for a split second, before grasping it firmly with a bandaged hand.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" replied Naruto with a mischievous grin. The two remained there, still shaking hands, until Kano glanced over at the two steaming bowls lying on the table beside him.

"Want a ramen eating contest?"

**~xXx~**

"Ah, Jiraiya, you're finally here."

Leaping out from the shadows, Jiraiya scowled, and said, "Hey, I'm only late because the gaki finally woke up." Ignoring the chair, he leaned against the wall, closely watching the Hokage.

Although Sarutobi smiled at the news, there was still an air of tiredness around him. The attack must've hit him really hard, to see the very people he was protecting attacking a little boy. Either that, or the paperwork has been stacking up again.

"So, Jiraiya, what would make you announce a meeting with me?" Sarutobi questioned lightly, lighting his pipe with a fire jutsu.

"It's about what happened 2 days ago."

Sarutobi leaned into his desk, staring at Jiraiya's posture; his hands folded over his chest, a frown on his face. He was serious. "Continue," he said slowly.

Jiraiya exhaled loudly, before closing his eyes, clearly reluctant about talking about that night. "It… happened after I found Naruto. After I drove away the attackers, I tried to approach him, but then his eyes opened."

Jiraiya opened his eyes, staring at Sarutobi. "They were black. Not entirely black, like a sort of dark, dark red. Truthfully, they scared the hell out of me, like looking into the darkness at the bottom of a well. At first, I thought that the Kyuubi had possessed him, because they had the demon's pupils in them."

Jiraiya rolled up a sleeve, revealing some bandages. "Did you wonder why I arrived at your office all cut up? When I approached Naruto, the kyuubi's voice warned me to stay away, and he forced me back. I didn't even sense the attack when cuts appeared all over me. The strangest thing was that I could feel them, the cold metal of the blade slicing my arms open, the knife pressed against my throat…. But I couldn't sense them.. Dammit, I couldn't see them at all."

Sarutobi's eyes were grave. "Was it the kyuubi's doing?" he asked in a whisper.

"I don't think so," Jiraiya answered slowly, and his eyes widened as he continued. "When Naruto was falling into unconsciousness, the slits disappeared before the dark red, meaning…."

"A doujutsu," Sarutobi breathed, his eyes wide with shock.

"That's what I thought too," Jiraiya said grimly. "This could cause a serious panic attack on the village, if this gets out. If the villagers find out that the jinchuuriki has a bloodline limit, they'll become fearful about his new power."

"I see what you mean," Sarutobi said, rubbing his temples. "The manipulation and creation of invisible blades? Not to mention that there might be more secrets to the bloodline. People will be lining up to adopt him into their clans, and enemy villages will surely want his bloodline too."

"A repeat of the Hyuuga kidnapping incident," Jiraiya added with a frustrated sigh. The two fell into silence, each in their own thoughts. Jiraiya stood up abruptly.

"I'll take care of Naruto," Jiraiya said suddenly.

"You know you can't do that, Jiraiya," Sarutobi reprieved. "A seven year old child cannot be taken care of by a sannin ninja traveling the lands for leads for Orochimaru. It's too dangerous."

"It's dangerous here too!" Jiraiya shot back, collapsing against the wall.

"Jiraiya…" Sarutobi said gently. "You know that you're the only reason why Orochimaru hasn't gained much power through these years. You've been stopping his every move for the past seven years. _Seven years._ What are we going to do if you just suddenly quit? You have a mission to do, _you know that_."

Jiraiya snarled, before banging his fist into the wall, making a dent in the wall. "I told him I was his godfather." Sarutobi's eyes widened. "How am I going to tell him that I have to leave, _again_?"

Sarutobi's eyes grew weary, his heart breaking over his student's misery. "Maybe, if we just told the village the truth about Naruto's past…"

Jiraiya's head shot up quickly. "No. Telling the village about Minato's secret will only make it worse. You and I know that…." Jiraiya sunk to his knees against the wall, and closed his eyes.

_Naruto, you have no idea exactly how much you are like your father…._

**FLASHBACK**

**~xXx~**

"This is all my fault…" Minato whispered mournfully, his voice muffled by the hands covering his face. "I'm the worst father in the world…."

Jiraiya settled down beside his student, his heart breaking at seeing him finally break down. It has been three days… _Three days_since the assassination. Since Minato's son, his pride and joy, was killed by rogue nins.

He could still remember it vividly. It was around 4:00 am when rogue nins had suddenly attacked the Namikaze residence. They were both just finishing dispatching the few outside the grounds, when a scream pierced the air. Minato had gone deathly pale, and literally disappeared, faster than a bolt of lightning, towards the house, with Jiraiya at his heels.

They arrived at his room just in time to see his face. That young, 5 year old face, an expression of sheer terror in his innocent blue eyes, before his head exploded in a burst of blood and gore, the small body collapsing like a broken doll.

Minato had frozen for a single second, just one _single_second… before the world turned straight into hell. He screamed like a wounded animal, before throwing 5 shuriken at the attacker, viciously hitting him the arms, ribcage, and straight into his still laughing face, killing him instantly.

The rest of them had no chance. Minato was still screaming himself hoarse, slashing left and right, blood slicing out from their throats at a perfect 90 degree angle, some left twisted and barely alive, with only with the upper half of their bodies, left to die a slow and painful death. Screams were heard by the entire village.

It was only 4 minutes later, when the rain washed every trace of life left from the home, when Minato was left standing in the middle of the living room, caked in blood, and surrounded by mutilated carcasses… When only the silence of the rain was heard, the screams at last fading away….

It was only then, that he started to cry.

"Jiraiya-sensei…" Minato's dead voice whispered hoarsely, breaking Jiraiya out of his thoughts. "The ANBU…. They found this… lying with one of the bodies…" He held out a headband, and Jiraiya's breathe got caught in his throat. Chiselled into the metal plate on the front of the forehead protector was the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Rock.

"I know we're at war right now…." he stated numbly, staring at his hands. "I know I shouldn't be feeling this but…."

Minato looked up at Jiraiya, and he saw those brilliant cerulean eyes, once filled with laughter and a carefree air, now hardening. If Jiraiya didn't see the rest of Minato's face, he would've sworn that they were from a different person, for those eyes were cold and merciless, eyes that has finally tasted the bitterness of loss.

"I swear… I'm going to kill every last one of those bastards for what they did…" Minato said slowly, staring up at Jiraiya like as if he wasn't there. "Not even when they're begging for mercy… I'm going to kill every fucking one of them."

There was a reason why the Hidden Rock held a grudge against the Yellow Flash. Why every parent was told to kill their child if they had blonde hair and blue eyes. For who could not remember that last battle between the Hidden Rock and the Hidden Leaf, when the Yellow Flash had single-handedly defeated an entire army in the span of a second?

Few knew that Minato had insisted on going alone. And even fewer knew that he gave a heartbreaking ghost of a smile after the last of them died. But only one knew that each of those rock ninjas were decapitated, their heads rolling on the muddy grass, their expressions frozen in one of sheer terror. That person was Jiraiya himself, who had burnt the bodies, only seconds after the Hidden Rock had surrendered to the war.

It was only years later that Minato finally let go of the past, and had another son. But this time, he took no chances. The wedding was held in secret, and the boy… The boy was given the surname Uzumaki, to prevent the tragedy from ever happening again.

It was such a cruel twist of fate, that even with all his precautions, even with all the secrets, that his youngest son still managed to have a painful life, burdened by the hatred of the same villagers Minato had given his life for, believing that they would look to him as a hero.

Uzumaki Naruto, the most pure and innocent boy with a painful past, the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the unknown son of Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage.

**~xXx~**

**FLASHBACK END**

**

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The description below is just to clear things out a little bit in case you got kind of confused in the story.**

**

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Kano:**

Age:5

Eye Color:Red (similar to Kurenai's)

Hair: Black, slightly spiky, but not by much. It is short, but covers his ears, slightly like Sai's, but a little longer and spikier.

Height:let's just say he's little more than couple inches shorter than Naruto.

Appearance:

Because he is an orphan, he wears slightly worn clothes, mostly in the colors red, blue, white, and yellow. Right now, he is wearing a red and white striped t-shirt with baggy black shorts. He constantly wears a blue cap similar to the one Yuki from Fruits Basket wore as a child. It partially hides his red eyes.

He wears brown sandals.

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**In the part where Naruto is feeling Kano's despair, I'm pretty sure many of you are pretty confused about that. Well, that'll be explained fully in the next chapter (meaning chapter two, not chapter one part three.) More specifically, it'll be explained in chapter two, part two.**

**As BlackPANDA xD said, _"Hope you liked the bit about Naruto's past. He wasn't all accepting about it at first, and I want to and will explore more on that."_**

**Also the Minato thing, since the manga never told why the fact was kept a secret (you know, they could easily have had people know Naruto's is the Fourth Hokage's son and still keep the Kyubi thing a secret) and so BlackPANDA xD has created something that may have led to it. According to BlackPANDA xD, _"Yeah, I added the 'older son who died after an assasination' part to make the reason more better, y'know? I also wanted to explore on Minato's dark side, which was pretty cool to type."_**

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**Thanks for reading and just to remind you again, THIS CHAPTER DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. IT BELONGS TO BLACKPANDA XD. I only edited some things and just changed some grammatical mistakes. But next chapter WILL belong to me and I hope you guys will all enjoy it despite my horrible writing. Review. Review. REVIEW!**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE (maybe I'll change this to Queen of B1aCk RoSE. I like the way it sounds but I also like the way keeper of B1aCk RoSE sounds as well so I'm not quite sure.)**


	7. Chapter 2: III Reiko: Karasu

**Here is the part three for chapter two. I think this gets a little more interesting.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Also, couple of the ANBUs that shows up in my story belongs to BlackPANDA xD as well as a certain dojutsu that appears at the end. That belongs to BlackPANDA xD. However, other then the ones I just mentioned, this story belongs to ME.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you will enjoy it. I apologize if you think my writing suck. I admit I'm not a professional so deal with it. Don't like it, don't read it. But if you have a constructive criticism at the end of this chapter, I'm open for them. Please read and review.**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the Queen of B1aCk RoSE**

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Chapter 2: Reiko's Story**

Reiko was known as the Black Phoenix. She always semi-henged with powerful genjutsu that made her appear as a tall kunoichi with short black hair. Her white, red, and black phoenix mask was never taken off and apart from Danzo, no one knew how she looked like, not that anyone wanted to know. All they knew about was her stealth, skills, and vague appearance. As the S-rank kunoichi in little too many Bingo books, she was deadly and no one, NO ONE, wanted to test it.

After a short A-rank mission, Reiko was crossing a wooden bridge in her ANBU uniform along with her mask covering her face. Despite the mere age of four, Reiko killed the group of ninjas she was sent to assassinate with ease and no feeling on her part. The Black Fenikkusu (Fenikkusu means Phoenix) came to a graceful halt and with feline grace, Reiko snapped her head toward the direction she just came from.

"Show yourself." A monotonous voice drawled out of the mask.

A shadow detached itself from a nearby tree and landed gracefully on its feet. There stood a figure in ANBU uniform and a mask that resembled… a crow? Reiko blankly stared at the ANBU, not even attempting to hide the fact that she was staring. The figure was just medium height of five feet seven and was obviously fit.

"Release your cover." Reiko once again droned with her expressionless voice.

"So you can see through all henge, genjutsu, and a seal." The ANBU noted, also without any expression.

The ANBU brought his hand together up to his chest level and formed an extremely fast short series of hand seals. Soon, there was a small puff and the clear sky was for a moment hazy from the smoke that covered the ANBU. As the smoke drifted away, Reiko could see a small figure of only about four feet three in a smaller ANBU uniform with the same crow mask he was wearing before.

"I can also see through _your_ henge, genjutsu, and the seal. I wish for you to release your cover." The boy ANBU continued in the same monotonous voice.

"I see. As you wish, Uchiha." Reiko told him in her unchanging voice, bringing her hands together to make a series of hand signs and puffed into her real self.

Reiko stood barely three feet two inches tall in her four-year-old body and stared at the boy ANBU with her mask still on. She noted that the ANBU did not seem to be bothered at slightest by her staring and actually was looking at _her_ with a curious expression. Actually, the boy still had her ANBU mask on but it was as though Reiko could _feel_ the world around her. She just knew that the boy was curious about her. She just knew that the boy was not afraid of her. She just knew it.

"I see you know who I am. Would you mind telling me yours as well?" the boy asked in a polite expressionless tone but Reiko somehow knew he was actually very interested.

"I don't have a name. I do not exist. I am a special weapon of Konoha, and my one and only mission is to serve Konoha and the Hokage-sama. I do not exist and I never existed." Reiko told the boy as though she had it memorized by heart.

"I see. My name is Itachi Uchiha and I have entered ANBU little over six months ago. How long have you been in ANBU? You don't look that old. I'm nine years old and you look far younger than me." Itachi told Reiko as she continued to stare at him with blank expression.

"I have been an ANBU nearly as long as I remember. I was an ANBU since I was two and you are correct in your assumption that you are older than me. Of now, I am four years old." Reiko told Itachi in a rather stiff mechanized voice.

"You still haven't told me your name." Itachi stated.

"My name is Reiko Okubo." Reiko told Itachi in same monotonous tone. "I must get going now. I have to meet Danzo-sama. It was pleasant meeting you, Itachi-san." Reiko departed with feline grace and Itachi just stared at the spot Reiko was just seconds ago.

Though he didn't show it, Itachi's heart ached at the lifeless voice coming from a four-year-old. The world was cruel to those that didn't deserve the cruelty. It was always the bad people that got to enjoy their life and the good people, the innocents were always the victim. Itachi remembered when he was a four-year-old. At that time, there was a war going on and he remembered killing people for the first time. He had nightmares for months after the killing but as he started to kill more and more people, he learned to turn off his feelings when he needed to.

Itachi had heard of the girl that he just met. She was the legend of ANBU Black Ops, the most feared assassin of Fire Nation. She was known in many different names, some of them being Black Demon, Angel of Death, Black Phoenix, and Masked Kunoichi of Eternal Blades.

The name 'Masked Kunoichi of Eternal Blades' was actually given to her by the Fire Daimyo after he saw her swordplay. Itachi saw her swordplay only once when he accidently stumbled on one of her training session but the memory was embedded deep into his memory. The every step she took was a graceful dance and her twin katanas were merely extensions of her arms. Her katanas sliced through the air with deadly force and every movement she made was delicately made, at 100 percent accuracy.

But for that girl to be only a three feet tall four-year-old girl… that was just way too much. Itachi knew Danzo recruited people to his ANBU Root at much younger age, often training a small group of potential members from very young age. However, Reiko was the first one Itachi ever even heard of with that young an age.

_'Such young children should never have had to experience through the cruelty of the world. Damn you, Danzo. You are killing the girl, skinning her soul, layer by layer.'_ Then, Itachi remembered Reiko's eyes. He could see the gray eyes through the Fenikkusu mask she wore and he could have sworn he saw a little bit of emotion rolling deep inside. It was in there so deep that one normally wouldn't have noticed. However, Itachi wasn't just a normal person. He was after all considered as Uchiha prodigy. He noticed things that no one else noticed and he saw it then and there, a smallest hint that told him Reiko wasn't quite dead yet.

It was then when Itachi decided he wanted her to be in his ANBU team. He was promoted to be the team captain just couple weeks ago and his team had one opening due to an unfortunate accident that resulted in death of an ANBU who was on a solo mission at that time. Itachi changed his direction and started toward the tall red tower where the Hokage lived.

**~ XXX ~**

Itachi knocked on the door of the Hokage's office. He was still in his ANBU uniform with his crow mask still on, his blade hung from his back and his hair was tied in a low pony tail.

"Enter." A wizened voice came from inside the Hokage office.

Itachi silently opened the door and slipped inside the office with swan-like grace. He bowed before the Hokage and walked toward the pipe-smoking Hokage.

"What is it that you want to talk to me about, Itachi? You may remove your mask if you wish." The Hokage looked at the young ANBU with curiosity.

Itachi removed his mask and revealed his emotionless face. His onyx eyes were looking straight at the Hokage and his well-featured face was blank. Then, he began to ask what he came to the office for.

"I wish to transfer Reiko Okubo from ANBU Root to my team. My team has an opening due to an unfortunate accident that one of my ANBU had during a solo mission. I believe Reiko Okubo will be a great addition to my team and besides, I have a slight suspicion on Danzo-sama. I don't think it is very normal for a two-year-old to be recruited to ANBU. I think Danzo-sama might be planning something and he may use Reiko as one of his weapons for Reiko is a very skilled kunoichi, possibly the best that Fire Nation has seen." Itachi told the Hokage his wish.

"So you want to have the Masked Kunoichi of Eternal Blades in your team? That is an interesting request. Also, you have brought up an interesting idea. You think Danzo might be plotting something? Well, knowing Danzo, it is possible and if he is, he is sure to use Reiko. I agree with you that Reiko is one of the best the shinobi world has seen. I think your request is reasonable and I will give you the permission to transfer Reiko to your team. I'm pretty sure Danzo wouldn't be very pleased with this but I think this will be just fine." The Hokage consented.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Itachi told the Hokage in formal voice.

"No problem. Show this to Danzo and he will have no choice but to give up Reiko." The Hokage told him.

The Hokage wrote something very swiftly on a blank scroll. When he was finished, he stamped and signed the scroll. Itachi took the scroll from the Hokage with a respectful bow.

"Thank you again, Hokage-sama." Itachi respectfully told the Hokage as he took the scroll from the Hokage's hand.

"You may be dismissed."

Itachi put the crow mask back on and with the same grace he entered with, he silently slipped out of the Hokage's room.

**~ XXX ~**

Itachi stopped at the ANBU Root Headquarters. He entered the Headquarters and asked the first ANBU Root member he saw for Danzo-sama's location. Just as the Root member was about to answer, Itachi sensed Danzo nearby. Just as he thought, Danzo was walking toward the two.

"Danzo-sama. I have something for you from the Hokage-sama." Itachi gave Danzo the scroll he got from the Hokage just couple minutes ago.

While Danzo was reading the scroll, Itachi could see a small anger flit through Danzo's otherwise expressionless face. It just made Itachi believe more in his theory of Danzo plotting something and planning on using Reiko. Itachi was glad Danzo would no longer have Reiko to use as a weapon. Without Reiko, Danzo would not have that much advantage over the other ANBU members. Actually, the main ANBU branch would have more power than the Root. Itachi inwardly smiled to himself while keeping up an expressionless face.

**~ XXX ~**

Reiko got a notice that she would be transferred to different ANBU team, actually entirely different branch. She would no longer serve ANBU Root and instead, she would be serving the main ANBU branch. Reiko knew she wouldn't miss ANBU Root.

Sure, she learned everything she knew from Root and had acceptable life. But she never liked the white walls and the fact that she didn't like it made her a bit upset. She wasn't suppose to feel anything, so why was she disliking the white walls? Reiko dismissed the thought from her mind and turned her attention back to task on hand.

She finished tidying up her ex-room, not that she had much to tidy up. She kept everything neat just like all the other Root members and so all she did was return the scrolls she borrowed from Root library and push a chair in.

Reiko didn't have anything to pack and so the only thing she basically brought with her other than her clothes (which were all ANBU uniforms) was her Fenikkusu mask. For some unknown reasons, she was strangely attached to the mask and really liked the Phoenix design.

**~ XXX ~**

Itachi waited for Reiko at the entrance of ANBU Root Headquarters and Reiko showed up in less than ten minutes. Reiko looked at him and Itachi was sure Reiko recognized him even if she didn't show it. Itachi had to admit Reiko had the best self-control, even better than him. She could hide her feelings expertly and Itachi was pretty sure it had to do with one of Danzo's feeling-killing trainings.

Reiko was shown into the ANBU Main Headquarters and soon was shown to her room. Her new room was similar to her old one except this one seemed somehow… happier. It was same white walls with bare minimum furniture but Reiko could sense more openness from this room. She liked it.

Sense of contentment flew through her and she enjoyed it. Reiko liked the Main Branch and she loved the way ANBUs here seemed much happier. She could somehow sense the happiness and contentment in the air while she only sensed blankness back in her old Root Headquarters.

"Here is your room and I hope you enjoy in this ANBU branch as well. I am called Karasu and I will be your Taichou. Why don't you get comfortable in your new home and I expect you to be present in our ANBU joint team meeting which will be held in two hours. It is in room B25 and all you have to do is walk down the hallway and make a right turn. You can probably find the room from there. I expect you at the meeting by five o'clock sharp. I don't mind you hiding yourself in missions but I want the henge off for the meeting." Itachi, now wearing his crow mask, told Reiko.

**~ XXX ~**

Reiko got everything situated and at fifteen to five, she started walking toward the room her new Taichou-san told her to be at. She found the room with no difficulty and at ten to five, she entered the room. Reiko noticed that the room was more like a hall than a room and was very spacious. A table in elongated oval shape was at the back of the room and Reiko's keen eyes noticed numerous couches and comfortable chairs all around the room.

Many others were already inside the room, talking in groups or looking over stacks of file. She could tell that she was obviously the shortest and the youngest in the entire room. They all looked to be at older teens and up, and Reiko was pretty sure all of them were at least two feet taller than her. She wished she had her henge on but she had the direct order from her Taichou-san and if there was one thing that ANBU Root drilled into her more than erasing her feelings and getting stronger, it was never to disobey any order, let alone a direct one.

As Reiko entered, more than two thirds of the people turned their heads toward the new arrival. Her obvious youth and her short stature made her the target of everyone's attention. Reiko felt extremely uncomfortable due to the fact that she was always trained to be invisible and fit in with her surroundings. As lithe as a cat, Reiko went to a shadowed corner that had least amount of people around. She looked around and counted total of fourteen people including herself.

"…she must be the…"

"…so young, why is…"

"…wonder how she…"

"I heard…"

Reiko ignored all the whisperings that surrounded her and started to go into a meditating position. Her meditation was rudely interrupted when the door open and the sudden silence disturbed her.

Reiko looked up and saw her new Taichou-san enter with another silver haired ANBU. The silver haired ANBU looked strangely familiar but Reiko couldn't quite place her finger on it for some reason. She stopped her musing as her new Taichou-san began speaking.

"I would like to welcome Team White for our joint team meeting. For those who do now know, I am Karasu and I am the Taichou of ANBU Assassination and Disposal Team, also known as Code Black. You may call me either Karasu or Taichou, whichever you prefer. This is Ookami-san, the Taichou of Team White. I would also like to welcome two ANBUs who agreed to be part of our team just for this mission. Also, please welcome a new addition to my team, Fenikkusu. For those who haven't noticed, the girl sitting in the back corner is Fenikkusu and even if you have never met her, I'm pretty sure you have heard of her. Fenikkusu is an experienced ANBU and I wish all of you to treat her as such." Karasu ended, his voice still monotone.

A whisper started again as Karasu introduced Fenikkusu to the other members. Once again, it was about her and Reiko frowned inside while keeping up a expressionless facade at the amount of attention she was receiving.

"…Fenikkusu, the Black Phoenix…"

"…Masked Kunoichi of Eternal Swords…"

"…wonder if she'll train with…"

"… is she really that good? I heard…"

"…Demon of Konoha. She's dangerous…"

Reiko once again ignored all the comments she picked up and continued staring at the two leaders with emotionless face. Reiko fortunately wore her mask and she didn't have to endure others talking about how she looks or guessing what age she might be. Her face was very youthful due to her extremely young age and the last thing she needed right now was people talking about how young she might be.

Reiko was called back to the reality when the silver-haired ANBU started to speak. She automatically snapped her head toward the ANBU, one of her old habits from ANBU Roots.

"To Karasu-san's team, I'm Ookami and I'm the Taichou of Team White. Karasu-san and I have called this meeting due to something that Hokage-sama had told is. Hokage-sama is concerned that there might be an attempt against Konoha and even though the chances are low, he wishes to make sure Konoha will be safe. We also have some information that tells us we should keep this secret from ANBU Root. We are currently suspicious about them and we are not willing to take chances. Hokage-sama has strictly told me to keep this top-secret and as usual, what is said in here will not leave here." Ookami told them.

Reiko frowned internally as she heard the bit concerning ANBU Root. It wasn't as though she had any attachment to the place for she was taught to have no emotion, but she wasn't quite okay with others slandering them. Reiko pushed the thought into the depth of her mind and started thinking about other things.

Despite the fact that Ookami was hiding behind his wolf mask, Reiko knew exactly who he was. Danzo had made her learn everything about the current ANBUs, including all their specialties and experiences. She wasn't sure how Danzo got his hand on such top secret files but she didn't question him.

Ookami's real name was Kakashi Hatake, a prodigy and son of late White Fang. He graduated the Ninja Academy at age five and was promoted a Chunin at age six. He had four nature affinities: Lightning, Earth, Water, and Fire. With his Sharingan eye that he received from his late comrade, Obito Uchiha, he copied over thousand jutsus and is a very powerful Jonin.

Reiko knew his ultimate techinique, Chidori, and Danzo made sure Reiko created her own technique to counter it. Now that she thought about it, Danzo made sure she had counter technique for every single ANBU and powerful Jonins. Reiko frowned inside, keeping her outside features unruffled even though her mask hid them anyways.

Karasu started to speak and Reiko once again focused her eyes on the young boy that she knew as Itachi Uchiha, the Uchiha prodigy. Having graduated Ninja Academy at age seven and became Chunin at age ten, he was one of the best in Konoha.

Even though he graduated and became Chunin older than Kakashi did, Danzo stressed to her that Itachi was just as deadly, if not more, as Kakashi. Itachi was five years older than her, only nine years old. He was already a captain and stood shoulder to shoulder with teenage Kakashi, who Reiko knew to be fifteen years old. His sharingan was powerful despite his young age and Danzo told her more than once that he was dangerous.

"As Ookami-san has told you, we have learned of some information that we believe all the members of our team should be aware of. Hokage-sama was concerned when he had received this bit and told us to immediately alert you. Since our team is the main Assassination and Disposal Team, and Team White is the main Tracking Team, Team White will be in a group of four with my team: two from each team will be placed in a squad." Karasu told them.

Karasu continued. "We will double our patrol around Konoha without the ANBU Root knowing. This is just for two months of patrol. Hokage-sama just wishes to take precaution should something happen. Now, I will call out which teams each one of you will be in." Karasu told them.

Reiko waited patiently as Karasu started reading off a list. There was total of four squads apparently and Karasu had just finished grouping the first three squads. Reiko was not part of the three so she assumed herself to be in the last squad.

"The Team Four will be consisting of me, Ookami-san, Hiena, and Fenikkusu. You may now meet your new teammates. The mission scroll is already at each designated place." Karasu finished.

Reiko searched through her knowledge of ANBU members for Hyena. She then remembered reading on a certain ANBU from Inuzuka. He was in Team White and his element was Fire. He wasn't particularly dangerous but Danzo made sure she had some kind of special attack reserved for him.

Team Four met by where the oval table was. Reiko quickly walked over to them, curious to know what they would be doing. She wasn't worried – she had gone through much worse things.

Kakashi watched as Fenikkusu approached him and Karasu. He had a strange feeling that he met her before but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Kakashi admitted he was quite surprised to learn that the legendary Demon of Konoha was a mere child, a little girl who seemed to be younger than him by a decade or so.

"Taichou-sama, Ookami-sama." Fenikkusu bowed.

"Fenikkusu." Karasu nodded.

"You are the Demon of Konoha and Masked Kunoichi of Eternal Blades." Kakashi spoke. It was just a statement, a confirmation statement.

"Yes, Ookami-sama." Fenikkusu looked straight into his dark blue eyes, her gray eyes emotionless.

"Hello. I'm code Hyena." A new voice entered.

Reiko (Fenikkusu) turned around to see a new member. He was wearing dog-like mask which she identified as Hyena and he was tall with spiky black hair. Reiko was at first confused at why he had his right hand outstretched before him but quickly identified it as handshake.

"Nice to meet you. I'm code Phoenix." Reiko answered, shaking his hand.

"So that's what Fenikkusu meant. Well, it fits you. After all, you _are_ the Black Phoenix." Hyena seemed quite pleasant and Reiko approved of him. Hyena then turned to Karasu and held out his hand to him as well. "Nice to meet you as well, Karasu-sama." Hyena told him.

"Good to meet you too, Hyena." Karasu told him as he shook Hyena's hand.

"Now that we are all acquainted, I would like to tell you where we will be covering. We will be patrolling the western section of the Konoha. We are to be invisible at all time, especially from ANBU Root. Hokage-sama had given our team a special mission to also spy on the movement of ANBU Root and report to him all suspicious activities. Hokage-sama is worried because ANBU Root seemed to act independent of him." Ookami explained their mission.

"We will be starting two days from now at five o'clock in the morning so I expect all of you by four thirty. I will be leading this team but if anything happens to me, Ookami-san will be your leader." Karasu told them. He then turned to Fenikkusu. "Now, Fenikkusu, I wish to test your skills. I have heard about your feats and I wish to see it for myself."

"Where would you two going to be testing? I wish to see the legendary Fenikkusu's skills with my own eyes as well." Ookami told them.

"May I have the permission to watch as well, Karasu-san?" Hyena asked.

"Anyone may watch as long as they are not being a distraction." Karasu told them. "Why don't we walk over to the training room five. It's just across the hallway."

Karasu, Fenikkusu, Ookami, and Hyena started toward the door. Having heard the short conversation, the others began to follow them, curious to see just how powerful the legendary Phoenix was.

**~ XXX ~**

The sixteen ANBU arrived in a spacious private training room. It was huge and reminded Reiko of more like a cavern than a room. With the light from torches across the walls, she could see that it was just a basic bare room with hard dirt-like ground. Deep inside, there was a small room that was separated from the rest of the training room by a thick sheet of glass. A glass door connected the two and the fourteen walked into the room. They either sat in one of the couches or just stood, all of their eyes trained on the training ground outside.

Reiko and Karasu stood at the middle of the large training room, Reiko's bluish gray eyes locked with Karasu dark gray. Reiko slid into a taijutsu stance, not willing to use up her ninjutsu from the very beginning. She could feel the emotion of Karasu radiating off him like a broken radio signal. Reiko decided that Karasu was excited and she was fine with it. She wanted to see how good Karasu was as well.

"You may start." Karasu's monotonous voice told Reiko.

Reiko disappeared in a flash and appeared right behind Karasu, her katana drawn. She pointed her Katana inches away from Karasu's throat and waited for his reaction.

Karasu suddenly disappeared and appeared couple yards away. Reiko had a feeling that something was not right and realized that she was in a genjutsu.

"Kai." Reiko softly spoke.

The room warped ever so slightly and Reiko found herself on the training ground with Karasu's katana inches away from her throat. Reiko just stared at Karasu devoid of all emotions.

"You broke the record. You are the first one to notice the genjutsu in less than a minute of my casting." Karasu told her and nodded slightly.

Reiko disappeared once again in a blur and appeared few feet from Karasu. From that point, it became a pure kenjutsu battle. Reiko took out her sheathed her current katana and took out her three-foot-long twin katanas as Karasu took out a second katana as well.

Slicing the air with her katanas, Reiko moved toward Karasu. Each movement was sharp and it became deadlier than the previous move despite the obvious height difference between her and Karasu. Karasu at first was just automatically blocking each blow but after couple minutes, he seemed to catch on the sword dance Reiko was using.

"Dance of the Lilies? Pretty impressive. The rumors were right. I take it that you are fifth level sword mistress?" Karasu asked as the two danced around each other, their katanas just a silver blur in the air.

"Yes. You are pretty good as well. I wasn't aware that you were also fifth level sword master." Reiko told Karasu in an equally monotonous voice.

"Well, I think this fight is going to get really interesting. It's not every day that I get to clash with fifth level sword mistress, especially the famous Masked Kunoichi of Eternal Blades. I heard that you have Katsuragi in your possession. Is it true?" Karasu asked nonchalantly.

"You are only partially correct. I have only part of Katsuragi. Due to an accident from ages ago, part of Katsuragi's hilt was broken and reduced the power of Katsuragi. From the information I gathered, the hilt was incorporated into Orochimaru's, one of the Legendary Senins, sword. I heard that he also calls his sword Katsuragi as well." Reiko answered.

"Hn." Karasu nodded and continued to block Reiko's katanas.

After that little bit of conversation, Karasu and Reiko fell silent, the clangs of their katanas only thing breaking the silence that hung over the entire training room. From the other side of the glass wall, the two looked as though they were dancing. Each one of their steps were perfectly synchronized and there katanas seemed to be a mere extension of their arms. Every move they made was graceful and if it wasn't for the sound of blades clashing, one would have thought that they were just waltzing around each other.

Suddenly, Reiko spun on her heels and whipped her katanas in deadly blow. Karasu was caught off guard and even though he brought up his katanas to block the blow, one of Reiko's katana struck a glancing blow at his mask and his mask cracked on the impact. The crack soon ran through the mask and it eventually shattered, revealing a well-featured face of Itachi Uchiha.

The ANBUs watching across the glass wall involuntarily gasped as Karasu's mask shattered.

"Man, she's good." Hyena grumbled.

"She is good but look at Karasu-san. Man, the Taichou finally shows his face and a cute face too. I wonder how old he is? He looks about nine or ten to me. If he was older, I would have been checking him out." A kunoichi with long purple hair and cat masked told him.

"Shut up, Cat." Hyena told the purple haired kunoichi.

Karasu frowned a bit and he whipped up his katanas, this time him attacking and Reiko defending. He expertly spun his katanas, slashing deadly blows that Reiko blocked expertly. He then started to put more force behind each blow and Reiko, for a moment, was caught off guard. Karasu struck a deadly blow at Reiko's face and Reiko barely stopped it with her katana, but her mask shattered in the same fashion that Karasu's was shattered.

A kunoichi that was called Cat whistled.

"Look, the legendary _Masked_ Kunoichi of Eternal Blades has finally shown her face. Man, she _is _young. How old is she anyways? She looks like she's barely five. She sure is cute too. Don't you agree, Eagle?" Cat told a guy who was right next to her.

The guy that was just called Eagle grunted and continued staring at the two shinobis.

Reiko frowned in her mind while keeping up the emotionless mask. Karasu was really good: his sword work was better than anyone she had ever fought against. She and Karasu were equal in sword fight so she was going to have to resort to something else if she was going to defeat him. Reiko really didn't want to use her ultimate technique that was reserved specially for Karasu but if she had to, she would use it. For once, Reiko was glad that Danzo-sama had her prepared for every single attack.

Karasu had reached a similar conclusion in his mind and attempted to resort to a combination of ninjutsu and genjutsu. He clashed his sword against Reiko's, trying to find an opening for his ninjutsu attack.

The katanas of Reiko and Karasu clashed in a particularly strong blow and they fell on the ground with a loud clang. The two leaped back and faced each other once again.

Karasu closed his eyes for a moment and opened it again. Instead of his usual onyx eyes, blood red eyes with two tomoes at the center took its place.

The ANBUs sitting in the viewing room gasped as they saw the red eyes of Karasu.

"Oh, she's dead. No one can beat our Taichou-sama when he has his sharingan activated." An ANBU muttered to himself, causing the rest of the ANBUs to concentrate even more on the fight.

Reiko looked calmly into the vermilion eyes of Karasu, well aware of what the sharingan could do. The shraringan could track every single ninjutsu moves she made and counterattack before she could even finish her seals. Also, it could cast powerful genjutsus just by looking. She internally frowned as she was left with no choice but to use the series of jutsus that she left only to be used on sharingan users.

As she began to form her seals, Karasu began to copy the seals. Reiko expected as much and she suddenly made a different hand sign, ending with a snake sign.

**"Fuuton: Daihu no Me _(Wind Release: Eye of Typhoon)_._"_**

The air began to rush around Reiko. The rushing air did not attack nor do anything except to spin faster and faster around Reiko, eventually making her look like a blur through the heavy wind.

Karasu frowned and started to make his own set of seals. Ending with the Dragon sign, he calmly spoke.

**"Suiton: Yaiba no Uzu _(Water Release: Blade of Water)_."**

Out of nowhere, water appeared before Karasu and formed into a large blade. The blade sliced through the typhoon and though Reiko was not harmed in any way, the air calmed. Karasu then suddenly appeared behind her with a kunai on his hand and even though Reiko had dodged, the kunai left a trail of blood on her exposed arm.

Reiko's eyes widened as the blood started to trickle down her arm. Her eyes briefly flashed red as she looked at Karasu and all the ANBUs held their breaths as red gashes appeared on Karasu's arms and chest, shredding the clothes. Karasu frowned as he felt the invisible blades but he didn't complain despite the pain.

Reiko wasn't sure what happened just then. All of the sudden, red gashes began to appear on Karasu's arms and chest, as though a series of invisible kunais had just raked over him. She wasn't sure what it was and from the expression she saw on Karasu, she doubted Karasu knew them either.

"Oh. My. God. The little girl finally got the blood." Cat gasped in shock.

Karasu disappeared in a flash and started the onslaught of attacks. The attacks were mixture of taijutsu and ninjutsu along with little bit of genjutsu. The cuts began to bleed badly, but Karasu just ignored them. Reiko blocked most of the attacks but as the fight went on, little bit of cuts appeared on her as well.

**"Kaiton: Shinnin Kasai no Shi _(Fire Release: Forest Fire of Death)_."**

A stream of fire came out from Karasu's mouth and they started to creep toward Reiko. They burned everything in their path, trapping Reiko from all sides. Reiko started her own counter.

**"Suiton: Oarashi no Koshi _(Suiton: Raging Storm of Flood)_."**

A huge wave of water crashed over the fire, putting them out. However, before Reiko had time to recompose, Karasu attacked once again.

**"Suiton: Senshi no Geikido _(Water Release: Warrior of Water)_."**

The water rushed to form a warrior and the water engulfed Reiko. Reiko was sent across the room by one of the blows from the water warrior and wind was knocked out of her lungs. Spitting out the blood, Reiko attempted to stand once more, but she was attacked by the warrior.

While Reiko was preoccupied with the water warrior, Karasu snuck up from behind. Reiko noticed him sneaking up and attempted in vain to fight off both the warrior and Karasu at the same time. Karasu grabbed her swiftly by hand and spun her around, putting her in a headlock. He pointed his kunai at her throat and smiled for the first time.

"I win."

Reiko was annoyed. Danzo-sama would be very disappointed to learn that she was able to be beaten by Karasu even though he himself told her that Karasu was one of the best. Reiko was at least a bit happy to know that she manage to draw substantial amount of blood from him during the fight.

Karasu was still puzzled over what had just happened during the fight. Fenikkusu's (or Reiko's) eyes suddenly flashed red very briefly and the numerous cuts appeared on his body. The cuts were still flowing and Karasu knew that he had to get some medical treatment to stop the blood. Blood was still gushing out of the wounds and Karasu remembered feeling as though a storm of kunais had just whipped past him.

Karasu was quite sure the sudden change in Fenikkusu's eyes had something to do with this. He knew that when there was an attack following the eye change always meant dojutsu, the most powerful of all jutsus. However, Karasu didn't know any dojutsu like hers. There was only three dojutsus and they were Rinnegan, Byakugan, and Sharingan.

The ANBUs that were watching from the sidelines rushed into the training room. One of them left to get the medics and the rest of them simply surrounded the two. They gasped at the bloodied figure of Karasu and the wearied Reiko.

"Now that was one hell of a fight." One of the ANBUs spoke.

"That was one of the best fights I've ever seen in my entire life." Another ANBU spoke.

_'Damn, she is good. She really is one of the best. Demon of Konoha and Masked Kunoichi of Eternal Blades. I have to say that she lives up to every letter of the names. She really earned them.'_ Ookami thought as he ran his hand through his silver hair.

A group of medics rushed in and started to check over the two. Just as they were trained to do, they started to clean up the wounds without question. After taking care of the most immediate injuries, the medics asked Karasu and Reiko to come to the medical wing to treat the other injuries they had sustained from the fight.

Reiko leaned onto her right leg to stand and gritted her teeth when she felt the pain of muscle strain jolting through her leg. She then saw a hand offered to her and looked up to see Karasu. After a quick discussion in her head, she decided to take his hand and put her small hand into Karasu's. She stood up and was shocked to see Karasu actually smile at her. She once again debated in her head and decided to smile as well. The smile felt awkward on her face but Reiko did it anyways.

Karasu was amazed by Reiko's skill. He had to admit that Reiko could have beaten him if she decided to resort to ninjutsu earlier. Even during the fight, he could tell that she was holding back some of her skills and he was eager to learn what else she could do. From what he saw, she was one of the best kunoichi that Fire Nation had ever seen. The rumors didn't seem to be a bit exaggerated. He was glad that he had such a capable shinobi on his team.

Now, her dojutsu or whatever that was… Karasu was quite sure it was dojutsu because he could see so many similarities between it and his own sharingan. The dojutsu seemed quite powerful but also raw. He decided that he should have Fenikkusu train her dojutsu. Actually, when he was training her personally, it won't be Taichou Karasu and Fenikkusu but Itachi Uchiha and Reiko Senju. Karasu was really looking forward to the training.

Reiko and Karasu started to walk toward the medical wing with the medics. Karasu decided to tell Reiko his plan for training on the way to the hospital.

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**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, especially where Karasu (Itachi) and Fenikkusu (Reiko) were fighting. For those of you who might be a bit confused, Reiko is currently four years old, Itachi is nine years old, and Kakashi (Ookami) is fourteen years old. Reiko is two years younger than Sasuke, Naruto, and their friends. I am aware that I'm making the age gap between Itachi and Sasuke much smaller into three years but I really don't want to make a pair have more age difference than five years. I think five years is already pushing it and I'm not going to make it like ten year gap. Besides, I like writing about teenagers and if I make Itachi and Kakashi too old, I won't get to write about their life as teens later on.**

**Also, I have some more things that I want to clear up.**

**Karasu is Itachi Uchiha and it stands for Crow.**

**Fenikkusu is Reiko Okubo and it stands for Phoenix.**

**Ookami is Kakashi Hatake and it stands for Wolf.**

**Taichou is just a title that they use to call their leader.**

**I hope that clears a bit. I just thought it will be much better if I used the Japanese version instead of just calling them Crow, Wolf, Phoenix, and etc. But I still used the English version for some of them just to avoid some confusion. You guys might get confused if I called every one of them in Japanese name. Besides, I get to save time that I would otherwise have used in looking up the words to see how to pronounce them. :)**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the Queen of B1aCk RoSE**


	8. Chapter 3: I What's Wrong?

**Hello again. This is my third chapter part I. Now you get to hear my little Naruto and Reiko rant about some semi-depressing things and stuff. Actually, this one's not that depressing compared to other ones so yeah. Well, I hope you enjoy it and I really apologize for sucking in writing. I always was and I doubt that's going to change anytime soon so I might just as well show the world how much I suck. Really, it's not like people's actually going to praise my writing since I already know I suck. Anyways, when you're done reading, just press the blue link/button and tell me how much this story sucked or something. Or maybe after you read the next two parts of this chapter to see if I improve or not (which I don't except probably the second part since most of that part if not all are written by this awesome person BlackPANDA xD but I bet your faces will be crestfallen after reading the third part so if you don't want to, then don't read it. It really saves a lot of trouble.)**

**Disclaimer: The plot for this chapter and next couple chapters do NOT belong to me. They belong to BlackPANDA xD and the only part that belongs to me is the Reiko's part of the part I and every chapter's part III. Also, I changed a little bit of the Naruto's part but mostly are written by BlackPANDA xD. Also, I do NOT own Naruto and the only character I own so far are Reiko and couple characters that I'm going to introduce in part III. But, they are not really that important so until now, Reiko's the only main character that I own.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**

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The Truth - Chapter 3: What's Wrong?**

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_**"Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one and they stink." - Frank Zappa**_

_**"It is no surprise to me that hardly anyone tells the truth about how they feel. The smart ones keep themselves to themselves for a good reason. Why would you want to tell anyone anything that's dear to you? Even when you like them and want nothing more than to be closer than close to them? It's so painful to be next to someone you feel strongly about and know you can't say the things you want to." - Henry Rollins**_

_**"There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall." - Sidonie Gabrielle**_

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III**

_Karasu, my bodyguard. He was weird, always silent and gloomy. How stereotypical of an Uchiha. I don't know how I didn't see it before. But Karasu is more than a stereotype. As you'll soon learn, he has loyalty far surpassing most of the shinobi. Loyalty usually only found in a Hokage. Because a Hokage would willingly sacrifice his life for the village. Karasu has done that and much more._

_Sometimes I wonder what would happen if he wasn't as loyal. If he was more power hungry and more willing to do anything for that power. But I'd scoff and dismiss that idea. Because an evil Karasu is just not Karasu anymore. The only chance of that happening is if he became mentally insane after his first A-rank assassination mission. I'm surprised he hasn't cracked at that time. He was 5 years old._

_Also, I met a girl and no it's not what you think it is. She entered my life and along with Karasu, she made my world upside down. Sure I have heard about the legendary Masked Kunoichi of Eternal Blades, but who would ever have expected the 'legend' to be a mere girl? Morever, the girl was two years younger than me._

_She was secretive and sometimes I wondered if she had any emotions. She seemed like a puppet with blank face and expressionless eyes, but as time went on, she started to show more emotions. She even laughed once. Only just couple weeks ago, I was adamant in the fact that I would be hated and lonely forever, but now… I'm not quite so sure._

_Now, I have a group of people who actually give a shit about me. The girl who introduced herself to me as Fenikkusu, Karasu, Kano, and this guy who told me that he was my godfather, Jiraiya. For the first time, I felt loved and I liked the feeling. No, I simply loved it and yearned for it. They gave me a new goal: to protect them with all my life. I would do anything for them and I mean anything._

_Fenikkusu told me that she became an ANBU at very young age and her sensei had her kill all her emotions. She had her first kill when she was two and if you ask me, I'm totally flabbergasted that she didn't go insane. You know, I wonder how I'll feel when I have my first kill. I guess I'll just have to wait and see._

_And Kano? He's just weird._

_-Naruto_

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_**"What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?" - T. S. Eliot**_

_**"Who knows what true loneliness is - not the conventional word but the naked terror? To the lonely themselves it wears a mask. The most miserable outcast hugs some memory or some illusion." - Joseph Conrad**_

_**"Maybe this is why so many serial killers work in pairs. It's nice not to feel alone in a world full of victims or enemies. It's no wonder Waltraud Wagner, the Austrian Angel of Death, convinced her friends to kill with her. It just seems so natural. You and me against the world..." - Chuck Palahniuk**_

_**"I am afraid to show you who I really am, because if I show you who I really am, you might not like it - and that's all I got." - Sabrina Ward Harrison**_

_**"The whole value of solitude depends upon one's self; it may be a sanctuary or a prison, a haven of repose or a place of punishment, a heaven or a hell, as we ourselves make it." - John Loobock**_

_

* * *

Karasu was always aloof. He separated himself from everyone, including his teammates. I always wondered why but then, I decided that it really didn't matter. For once, I felt wanted. Karasu, despite his oddities, showed that he cared about me in many different ways. He took me out to have lunch with him and acted like my big brother, all protective and stuff. He was always silent but I knew that he cared. I could sense his feelings and knew that despite his emotionless exterior, he cared about things more than I've ever felt anybody care._

_Karasu made me feel again. He roused up the deadened feelings lying dormant inside me and made me human again. I learned what caring was and I'm glad that Karasu took me away from ANBU Root. Now that I know what emotions are, I don't want to ever let go of them again. I refuse, I refuse to go back to ANBU Roots and Danzo-sama._

_When I heard that Karasu got a solo mission, I was disappointed and sad. He probably will go somewhere far away and I won't be able to see him for a while. I have come to think of him as my big brother that I never had and it really hurt me to let go even for a moment. I never had much in my life and I can't bear to lose anything._

_I was truly glad when I found out about the mission. The mission was only to guard a certain boy and I was relieved. Even though I wasn't suppose to know, I had my ways of figuring out and I began to follow Karasu and the boy. Boy did I know that the Karasu's mission would have changed my life. If I say Karasu was the first boy who turned my world upside down, I would say that the two boys that I met warped my vision of the world._

_Who would ever have thought that such thing would happen to me. If someone had told me that I would one day meet three guys who would change my life forever, I would simply have scoffed at the idea. Actually, I would just have stared blankly since I wouldn't know what scoffing is, let alone do it. You know, meeting the three most important guys in my life, it's not exactly what you think it is. It wasn't like I was in love with any of them unless your counting loving them as one would a brother. Besides, I was way too young to feel things like that._

_You know what? I don't even know why I'm even writing this. Why am I even telling you the hell of my life? I guess I just don't have anything better to do._

_-Reiko_

* * *

_**"The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound." - Maureen Duffy**_

_**"We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone." - Orson Welles**_

_**"The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration." - Pearl S. Buck**_

**

* * *

Thanks for enduring my story and I hope you like/liked it. I would always appreciate reviews.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**


	9. Chapter 3: II Naruto: Bloodline?

**Tada. Here it is. The second part of chapter three. I think this is really well written (since it's not by me by it's by BlackPANDA xD) and I'm pretty sure all of you guys will enjoy it a LOT. This is basically talking about Naruto's past (ish). I know this is quite a bit shorter than the last couple and I just hope that you guys will enjoy them as much as the last one. Kay and thanks for reading. I really appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto and this chapter belongs to BlackPANDA xD, not me. As much as I wish I can write like this, I can't so that's just too bad. I guess I'm going to have to deal with it.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**

**

* * *

Chapter 3: Naruto's Story**

S-rank missions. Danger was nearly 100%. Most, if not all, shinobis coming back from those near fatal missions came back wounded or exhausted. Recommended for at least three jounin or a team of ANBU.

When Karasu had gotten his first S-rank mission, he really didn't expect to be inconspicuously standing upside down outside a hospital window watching two kids eating ramen like there was no tomorrow.

Suddenly, he was alerted to a high amount of chakra rapidly heading in his charge's direction. His tanto was out in a flash, and Karasu stood there, all muscles tense as chilling, glowing red eyes stared out of the crow mask, searching through the oblivious civilians. After a stiff moment of silence, he relaxed, sheathing his blade just as a white blur landed beside him.

"Karasu," Jiraiya greeted stiffly, crouched upside down beside him.

Karasu felt a small amount of nervous respect as he nodded humbly back at him. Right beside him was the Toad sannin, one of the three legendary sannin of Konoha, the students of the Hokage himself. And right now that sannin was glaring at him openly, sizing him up in the familiar way an overprotective mother glares at the babysitter.

_Nerve-wracking._

A small tilt of his head of Jiraiya's head was the only thing he displayed to show his apparent approval. Karasu let out a breath he had been unknowingly holding and Jiraiya chuckled.

"I'm late as it is, there's been an info leak on my… the enemy, and I have to leave," Karasu nodded in understanding. "If Naruto has any plans on being a ninja, give him these scrolls," Jiraiya continued, before handing the ANBU guard 3 medium-sized red scrolls. Karasu saw a small note attached indiscreetly on the largest one, his client's words scrawled on the front.

Karasu lifted his eyes up when he heard the Toad sannin chuckle, and looked into the window just in time to see the ramen the two kids were previously eating accidentally knock down, spilling the semi-hot broth onto the hospital sheets.

He glanced at Jiraiya, seeing him staring intently at the laughing boy with the blue cap, trying and failing to mop the mess up.

"The gaki with the red eyes, keep an eye out for him," Jiraiya said suddenly. "Although I couldn't sense a henge, there's just something… odd about his chakra." he added, a thoughtful look on his face. Karasu nodded again, taking the warning to memory.

"Oh and Karasu," Jiraiya whispered dramatically, his serious eyes staring deep into Itachi's. "Remember, Naruto isn't suppose to know that he has a guard, protect him inconspicuously. I'm counting on you." Jiraiya disappears in a puff of smoke.

It's been a few hours after that day. Karasu was taking his mission seriously. After all, even if he was only protecting the jinchuuriki from random minor villager attacks, it was still his first S-rank mission.

He had already inconspicuously given his client the scrolls, silently dropping it as they were too distracted with the 'ramen contest.' He had watched his client's expression reading the note, going from puzzlement, to shock, and then a ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

Now hidden among the leaves, Itachi watched the two kids, huddling next to each other in the training grounds, whispering suspiciously. Now, if only they were facing this way instead of turning their backs to him, he could read their lips.

Karasu mentally sighs as Kano smacked Naruto on the head. This was going to be a long mission.

* * *

_Dear Naruto._

_I'm sorry but I had to make an emergency leave. Do you remember when you said that I must've had a reason to leave? I do. My old team mate and now S-class missing nin, is doing freak experiments and tests to try and get stronger, and eventually take over Konoha. I'm trying to stop him._

_I'm sorry I couldn't say good-bye to your face. Guess your godfather's a real coward. I could say sorry again and again but there's not a lot of room on this napkin I'm writing on._

_Included with this note are ninja scrolls for taijutsu, and basic ninjutsu/genjutsu theories along with 3000 ryo. If you are anything like your father, you'd want to be a ninja. Good luck._

_Here's the important part: Naruto, you have a bloodline. It is one of the most dangerous I've ever seen so I want you to train with it. Train so you wouldn't accidentally kill someone. Yes, that happens. I'm researching as to how you have one, but right now, I'm guessing it's through the Uzumaki clan, on your mother's side. Until then, do not tell ANYONE you have a bloodline, except for those you really trust. A bloodline this powerful could cause the third shinobi war. I hope you understand._

_Lo-__er,_

_See you kid, Jiraiya._

Naruto felt a small smile form on his face. It was a strange feeling, to actually have a guardian looking after him, even if through a letter. Not that he didn't like it.

Suddenly, the meaning of those hit him like a jackhammer. He had a _bloodline_. This had to explain the strange voices and the floating sword in his mind. It explained the way he had, one day, wanted to cut an apple but didn't have a knife. Frowning in frustration, he was shocked when the apple suddenly split cleanly in half like as if an invisible blade had sliced right through it.

An invisible blade….? Wait, what the hell?

"Uhh, Naruto-kun? Are you okay?" Kano questioned, repeatedly poking Naruto's shocked face.

Naruto hesitated. He had known Kano for one day. Could he tell him the secret? He was only 5, toddlers were known to babble a lot.

But was he really five? Naruto recalled the many conversations with the little blue hat wearing kid. The way he had described the villagers beating him up was so… gruesome. Despite his bubbly appearance, Kano uses grammar beyond his years.

Wait, there was one thing he could do. After that night, he had woken up seeing a swirl of colors around him. It took him a while to adjust, and longer to learn that he could turn the strange vision off. He had to flinch when Jiraiya poked his head into his room, the dizzying swirl of dark green, yellow, blue, and black-grey. Recalling emotions of anxiousness, relief, and guilt nearly made him sick.

There was only one explanation for this: he could _'see'_people's emotional auras. What was the word for this... An empath? But... If he could use that sense to look into Kano's aura, he might see if he was trustworthy enough.

Kano looked at Naruto in confusion as he squinted back at him, his eyes slowly smoldering as black red wisps covered his eyes.

Yellow… Happiness. Kano seemed really happy to be hanging out with him. A light silver grey…. Naruto mentally smiled. Loyalty, Kano really wanted to be Naruto's friend, and had already grown attached to him.

Naruto's eyes furrowed as he saw another color swirling rapidly in the middle of Kano's aura. He dug deeper, trying to spot it among the other colors. Finally reaching it, Naruto gaped in shock. _Black._

_Smoke, everywhere. It blinded my already blurry vision, but I didn't care. I was leaping though the trees…. I was so close._So close… _I had to make it in time.__One leap later, I arrived in a clearing. Trees were toppled down, mercifully hiding the many corpses lying underneath. The evil, bloodthirsty miasma of a red chakra hung heavily over the area, nearly buckling my knees.__Exhausted eyes darted upwards. A single ninja, the last among the one hundred dead reinforcements, bravely trying to defend the village. I lifted my head and saw it.__Nine tails, swirling unconsciously behind it. The orange fur, cloaked with the same demon red chakra; menacing, and foul. The head of an ominous fox with long ears, and a bloodthirsty grin. I stared grimly into the red eyes, the pupils slitted like a cat._

_The grin widened._**_"Ho-"_**

"NARUTO!"

The blonde blinked, as the real world came crashing down around his ears. His heart raced, what was that? What did he just _see_?

"Uh, yeah, Kano-chan?" Naruto said absentmindedly, trying to clear his head.

Kano shivered. "Do NOT call me Kano-chan!" he said fiercely, trying to look intimidating, but only managing to look cute. Naruto smiled. Whatever that was, it didn't matter.

"Kano-ch, I mean, Kano-k… You know what, can I call just call you Kano?" Naruto said in exasperation.

Kano smiled under his cap, though it turned out more like a grimace. "Okay, as long as you don't space out while I'm talking." he huffed.

"Okay, because I gotta tell you a secret," Naruto said seriously, beckoning Kano to come closer. Intrigued, Kano complied, plopping down beside him. Taking a deep breath, Naruto whispered in his ear. "Well, I have a bloodline."

Kano's childlike eyes widened significantly. He opened his mouth to say something, but Naruto quickly covered it with a hand, making Kano mock-glare at him.

"It's supposed to be a secret," Naruto said seriously, shaking a finger at him. "Can you keep it?" Kano nodded, excitement gleaming in his red eyes.

The second Naruto's hand came away from Kano's mouth, he blurted out, "Can you tell me about it?"

Naruto complied, an uncharacteristic thoughtful look on his face. "I don't know a lot, but I'll tell you what I DO know. I can create invisible blades, and use it like kunai. When I do that, my eyes turn into dark red color. Also, I obtain another sense, like sight or smell, only I see the emotional auras of people."

Kano gaped in awe at his friend. "That's so cool! Is that why we're at the training grounds, to train?" Naruto nodded and Kano paused, a confused expression on his face.

"Wait, does that mean you want to be a ninja?" Kano questioned.

Naruto nodded, a painfully wide grin on his face. "I'm going to be Hokage one day." he stated proudly.

Kano nodded. "But why?" Caught off guard, Naruto paused before answering. That was the thing with Kano, sometimes he didn't react the way you would expect.

"I want to be Hokage so that people would finally recognize me! So that they would fina-ITAI!"

Kano had smacked him on the head, an uncharacteristic serious expression on his face. "That is a childish dream." He stated. "Being Hokage just for that reason is selfish. A Hokage is chosen, yes, for his power, but also for his selflessness. He has the responsibility to look after the entire village. To look after them, _protect them._Just like the f-fourth… Like the fourth Hokage, who sacrificed his life for the safety of his village! Are you willing to do the same thing in the future?"

Naruto was silent for a moment, struck dumb by Kano's accusations. Now that he thought about it, was his dream really that childish? Was he being selfish, wanting to be Hokage just for some respect?

_Was he willing to protect the same people who rejected his entire existence?_

Naruto hesitated, before nodding. An unreadable emotion formed in Kano's bright red eyes, before he smiled suddenly, and said, "Well, Naruto-kun, then I'll help you."

It was a strange sight, Itachi reasoned, seeing a 5 year old instructing a kid older than him on ninja training. The two friends have reached a sort of silent agreement, Kano would train Naruto and in return he would swallow his pride for following someone 2 years younger than him. The boy pushed him, making him do laps rivaling Gai's amount, even on standard shinobi training like tree climbing and water walking.

When Naruto asked how the hell Kano had known these things, he just vaguely replied, "Kaa-san taught me,"

The excuse was so unlikely, even Naruto knew it was a lie. He knew that Kano was lying for a reason, though, so didn't push it. Itachi on the other hand, became even more suspicious but without solid proof, he couldn't really do anything.

A few weeks later, Naruto had, with the help of his new 'sensei' mastered tree climbing and water walking, being able to do it like it was second nature.

"Okay!" Kano declared, after Naruto had done 30 laps around Konoha. Exhausted, and sprawled out on the ground, he gave a weak glare towards his grinning friend. Said friend gave him a thumbs up similar to Maito Gai's, handing him some water.

"We worked on your endurance, and your chakra control, so now I think we can finally work on your," Kano paused, before crouching low, his eyes darting around before stage-whispering, "bloodline limit."

"Riight," Naruto replied sarcastically, gaining his breathe as he staggered upright. In a split second, he concentrated his chakra into his eyes, and the clear blue turned into a dead dark red, glowing in an otherworldly gleam.

Naruto nodded to Kano, and the next second, Kano began flinging multiple banana cream pies in the air, and Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated. Suddenly, two of the seven pies in the air sliced clean in half, the others being hit only on the tips or not at all. Gritting his teeth, Naruto waved an arm upwards, and the last pie exploded in a rip of cream and tinfoil before he plopped down onto the ground in exhaustion.

Currently watching the curious duo was Karasu, or Itachi, a slightly bemused expression on his face behind his crow mask, as he watched their antics. He thought about a certain girl that he trained with. Naruto's eyes… They were just like the girl's… Reiko's. Where exactly did those pies come from? Unfortunately, five aerial projectiles coming his way in an agonizing slow motion broke his thoughts.

With horror, he realized that the aerial projectiles were the remaining banana cream pies in the air, and secondly, he was currently crouching on a large thicket of bushes, the dead leaves underneath him, and the large leaves above him preventing him from moving without alerting his client to his position. Jiraiya's stern talk flashed in his mind.

... He was screwed.

Karasu shut his eyes as 5 banana cream pies splattered on his face.

Naruto and Kano sniggered at the faint splat of pie heard from afar. It began a few days ago when Naruto was testing his new vision when he saw an aura from the trees behind him. It was his bodyguard. Sandaime oji-san had told him that he had a bodyguard, since Jiraiya couldn't look after him. Kano and Naruto were slightly annoyed and curious that he hasn't shown his face yet, and were determined to bring him out. Plus, Naruto hasn't ever tried to throw a pie in an ANBU's face before.

In short, they had known he was there in from the beginning.

A few more banana cream pies later, a small bird came, swooping around the duo before landing on Kano's head. Unperturbed, Kano happily stroked its golden brown feathers, before taking a small scroll from its beak.

Kano frowned as he read it. Suddenly, he snapped the scroll back into place, giving it back to the bird, who gave a quick nod before flying away.

"Sorry, Naruto!" Kano apologized, scratching the back of his head. "Kaa-san is expecting me back home." He paused before whispering in Naruto's ear. "Good luck on Guard-san."

Kano straightened up quickly. "See you later, Naruto!" He turned his head towards Karasu in the trees, as he ran off. "BYE GUARD-SAN!"

* * *

They… knew?

"_Oh and Karasu," Jiraiya whispered dramatically, his serious eyes staring deep into Itachi's. "Remember, Naruto isn't suppose to know that he has a guard, protect him inconspicuously. I'm counting on you." Jiraiya disappears in a puff of smoke._

Oh, he was pissed.

* * *

It was night time and Naruto was bored. Kano had taught him the beginning katas of a taijutsu called Dance of the Dragon Child, which relied on a small frame and quick reflexes, speed, and endurance. Luckily Naruto had all of those requirements.

Training wasn't supposed to be boring. Going through the first form, he gained speed as he got used to it but he just wasn't into it.

He stopped for a breather, looking up at the sky out the window. It was raining, and the quiet patter of the rain hitting the rooftops was the only sound heard through the house. After being with a chatty person like Kano, the silence afterwards, something he used to be accustomed to, seemed so _lonely._

Lost in his thoughts, Naruto made some ramen, slurping the noodles absentmindedly. The rain outside seemed to be growing steadier, until it literally pounded against the roof.

His thoughts strayed to his guard, probably sitting on a tree outside, in the rain.

"Guard-san, do you want to come inside?" Naruto called curiously out the window, sticking his head out into the downpour. There was silence.

He didn't know why he just snapped, but as he heard no reply, a tick mark appeared on his forehead. Naruto slammed open the door, and stormed outside, sitting on a log outside in the rain.

"Hey, Guard-san," Naruto grinned largely, despite the cold clawing at him. "If you don't come out here, I'm going to stay out here… But hey, aren't you supposed to take care of me?"

Karasu's eyes twitched as he watched the child waiting stubbornly outside in the rain. He'll play his game….

After over four hours, Itachi was beginning to become worried. Naruto hasn't moved from his spot. How curious was his client? His stubbornness could rival his otouto's. With that thought, a small hidden smile formed behind the emotionless mask he wore. It quickly disappeared as soon as it came.

Naruto sneezed, his teeth chattering as he glared up at the green-ish grey aura in the woods. He slowly got up, aware of the painful numbness in his legs.

"I'm going to stay out here forever until you get here, dattebayo!" Naruto called out energetically. Suddenly, he staggered as his knees buckled under him. Naruto grimaced as he realized he was soon losing consciousness.

"Good-bye cruel world," Naruto whispered sarcastically. The last thing he felt before succumbing to the darkness was a pair of arms holding him up.

Karasu silently carried his client back into the house. He was really light, abnormally so. And deathly cold, Karasu thought, feeling a bit of concern. After drying him off and tucking him firmly into the blankets, Karasu just stared blankly at his now snoring client.

Of all the missions he had, it's been a long while since he had a babysitting mission, and that was way before when he was a genin. He really didn't have any idea of what he was suppose to do in this situation.

Karasu noticed a soaked bandage on his arm, and slowly removed it, expecting a wound. Staring at the scar, an unfamiliar emotion welled up inside Itachi. Sympathy. An emotion Karasu had always squashed, removing it to the furthest corners of his mind. Yet, this child had made then reappear again.

"_Demon_…" Karasu whispered, tracing the scar numbly. "How are you still alive?"

Suddenly, Karasu heard music, above near the rooftops. Slightly wary, Karasu went to investigate, but what he saw was not what he expected.

Sure, Taichi-san had reported an enigma musician coming on top of Naruto's apartment to play songs, but he really didn't expect it to be true. Yet, here he was, strumming his guitar despite the rain pouring down his guitar and clothes. Karasu could see wet strands of hair poking out from under his black hood, but it was too dark to see the color.

"Sharingan," Karasu whispered, and red eyes glowed from beneath the crow mask, staring at the man's frame. Nothing unusual, some off color marks on his limbs, but that could've passed as an old battle wound or skin disease.

Not one to be willingly in the rain, Karasu went back inside, not noticing the blue eyes staring at his retreating back.

* * *

"…_Do you have what we seek?"_

_It was darkness, everywhere. Naruto looked around frantically, searching for the voice. "What are you looking for?" Naruto asked in confusion._

_All the voices laughed quietly, as if that was a stupid question. They all spoke together, "Don't act innocent, Child… We are looking for-"_

Naruto wakes up to sun rays glaring on his face through the curtain windows. He groans at the headache he has. Maybe staying out in the rain wasn't such a good idea…

Suddenly, a looming mask appears in front of him, making him yelp in surprise. The… creepy masked man silently handed him some porridge, before retreating towards a chair beside him.

Naruto sweat dropped, looking at the man and at the bowl in his hand, and then back again. He dipped his finger in the porridge warily and tasted it. It was warm and had a slight cinnamon taste to it.

Touched, Naruto happily eats the still warm porridge, giving random glances to the person sitting on the chair, silently staring at him. The man was wearing the uniform of the ANBU elite, and his mask portrayed the face of a grotesque crow. Raven black hair poked out from beneath the mask. He tries to feel his aura, but it was hard to find. He felt slight… amusement?

"Guard-san?" Naruto questioned warily. The man nodded stiffly, still staring at him.

"What's with the mask? I mean, do you get to choose what kind you get, because it's really creepy."

Silence.

"Uh, thanks for the porridge, anyway!"

Silence.

"… Your hair is really straight and long. Are you a girl or a guy?"

Twitch. Silence.

"Er… what's this lumpy stuff in here?"

Silence. "Cauliflower."

Naruto's ears perked up. _Success! He has spoken!_

"What's your name, ne?" Naruto pressed, bravely staring into the dark eyes beneath the mask.

The guard tilted his head a little to the side, as if contemplating the question. There was silence for a brief second, before he answered.

"Karasu,"

* * *

The next day, as Naruto and Kano began training again, Karasu looked over the pair on the roof in plain view, clearly not wanting another pie in the face.

After Kano congratulated Naruto on revealing the identity of the guard, they both began pouring over some of the scrolls Jiraiya had left. Naruto had already read the scrolls on ninjutsu theory and they were trying to decipher the barely legible words on the taijutsu scrolls. The scrolls had looked like they had been squashed, stomped on, and basically worse for wear, and combined with Jiraiya's already messy handwriting, they were hard pressed on trying to learn from it.

They come across a taijutsu called the Golden Dragon style, an improved style of the Dance of the Dragon Child which Naruto was already learning. Kano unfortunately was not familiar with the style, which was a surprise, since he knew a lot of taijutsu styles.

"Er… Naruto, does this say 'pat me,'?" Kano asked, eyes furrowed in concentration as he stared at the scrolls, his face a centimeter away from the scroll itself.

"I'm pretty sure that's a k, not a p…" Naruto replied doubtfully, snatching the scroll and glaring at it as well.

Tired of their constant chattering, Karasu decided to give them a nudge in the right direction.

"The word says kata," Karasu drawled from the rooftops, reading the words using his sharingan. "The scroll is referring to the first kata of the Golden Dragon style, by positioning your feet one behind the…" Karasu faltered.

Kano and Naruto gaped at him simultaneously, looking at Karasu in a sudden light. "Karasu-sempai…. Can you teach us…?"

Karasu blinks. It was one thing to be asked to teach a taijutsu. It was another to teach it to five and seven year olds. He was ANBU, he wasn't supposed to teach them anything, only guard Naruto. That's it.

Was it because of their puppy-dog eyed looks so similar to Sasuke's, or the fact that he did not like being pestered? Whatever the reason, Itachi had no idea why he answered what he did.

"… Fine,"

**

* * *

**

In one of his training session, Naruto met a girl. He was actually just practicing when he felt a new presence in the nearby bush. He told her to come out and found out that the intruder was just a five-year-old girl who was already an ANBU. Moreover, she had the same eyes as he did.

They decided to train together and soon, they became fast friends. She told Naruto and Kano that she never had friends in her age since everyone in ANBU was all much older than her. The closest friend she had was Naruto's guard, Karasu-san and she thought of Karasu-san as her nii-san.

Training with Kano, the girl who told them her name was Reiko, and Karasu-san, Naruto could feel himself get stronger by days. He loved the feeling of getting stronger.

**

* * *

**

**ONE YEAR LATER**

Naruto was about to enter his first day at the academy. Although Naruto had reached a sort of growth spurt, Kano, although six years old, looked no different in a year, still wearing that same blue cap.

Ever since Karasu has been guarding Naruto, attacks on him, accidental or not, were slim to none, and the rage of the ANBU Crow became feared among the kyuubi haters, to his satisfaction. All people threatening to do harm to Naruto were sent to the hospital with two broken arms, a shaved head, and an injured pride.

Itachi had no idea how, but they managed to crack his mask a little. A feat supposedly impossible except for Sasuke and possibly, actually probably, Reiko. It was Naruto's special ability, after all, to touch the hearts of everyone he met, even Itachi.

Karasu had even laughed once, when Kano had dyed Naruto's hair pink. It had shocked himself, and although it was only a quiet chuckle that lasted for a brief second, he had _laughed._

Naruto was strong, that was for sure. Itachi had only told Naruto a few tips, but he had absorbed techniques and directions like a sponge. He was fast approaching high genin level, even a low chunin.

Naruto had a dead aim, courtesy of the special dojutsu training Kano had him under. Naruto could manipulate ten blades simultaneously. He had managed to master the blades enough to have a low chunin level speed. The blades could only exist five meters away from Naruto, but the range was slowly increasing.

In return, Naruto had taken off his mask when he was around them. It wasn't a physical mask, more of a mental one. Karasu was shocked that under the supposed obnoxious and overly cheerful mask, was a mature and mellow child with a sarcastic tongue. It was mind blowing.

Kano had looked royally pissed after Naruto had nervously explained that he showed it in public so much that it became second nature to wear it near people.

Kano had literally stormed off to a nearby training ground, and Naruto and Karasu sweat dropped when loud explosions were heard from that area.

"Sorry," Naruto had said to Karasu, an uneasy expression on his face. Karasu shook his head, before flicking Naruto on the forehead.

"You shouldn't be," Karasu replied shortly, and walked off to his apartment. "When Kano comes back, tell him that we're having ramen for dinner."

Naruto smirked in amusement, though relief showed in his eyes. Rubbing his forehead, he walked casually off to in the Kano's direction.

"Oi, Kano-chan, you done killing the trees yet?"

"NO!" called out a fuming voice from the trees. "AND STOP CALLING ME KANO-CHAN!" Naruto rolled his eyes.

As Karasu read a magazine, waiting for the water to boil, and Kano vented his anger, one thought stayed in their mind.

Naruto had entrusted his secret to them, and they weren't going to make Naruto regret that.

It was lunch time at Konoha academy, as Itachi watched Naruto chatting energetically with Haruno Sakura, a plain girl from a civilian family. Suddenly, he spotted a purple haired girl spying at the two from behind a tree, a bright blush on her slightly sad face. Hyuuga Hinata, spying on his client. An amused smile formed on Karasu's face, hidden behind the mask. Somebody has a secret admirer.

* * *

**LATER THAT DAY**

"Itachi-nii? You've been so busy! Are we still having the shuriken practice later?"

Itachi looked up as he pulled off his sandals, and smiled at the hopeful expression on Sasuke's face.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I have an important mission that requires me to be away for most of the time…" Itachi faltered, seeing Sasuke's downcast expression. "I guess a few hours wouldn't hurt, though." he relented.

Sasuke smiles happily. "Arigato, Itachi-nii! I've been loads better, I've been practicing a lot and a lot!"

Itachi laughs softly before heading towards his room. Sasuke watches his nii-san with a happy smile. Lately, his nii-san has been more cheerful, and he actually laughed more. Nii-san never used to do that before. _Nii-san_was an old grumpy pants with the face of a statue, _especially_when Tou-san was around.

Itachi was just opening his bedroom door, when he was alerted to a presence behind him.

"Good morning, ANBU-san." Itachi greeted politely, turning around to face the ANBU. He unconsciously tensed at seeing the man. Although his mask was at the side of his head, the man's face was emotionless as a robot. Itachi immediately recognized him as a ROOT member. Unlike the ANBU, ROOT members were taken from birth, and the ninja rules were pounded into their heads the moment they could talk. It was an empty existence. "What brings you to the Uchiha residence?"

"Danzou-sama immediately requests your presence, Uchiha-san."

Itachi nodded automatically, hiding the sudden loud beating of his heart, before following the ROOT member.

It was hours later, when a drenched Itachi opened the front door to his house. Lightning illuminated the dark night outside, briefly revealing the many raindrops and downcast clouds.

As soon as he opened the door, he was tackled by a small blue-black blur.

The 'blue-black blur' glowered at Itachi, an accusing scowl on his face. "Itachi-nii!" Sasuke said in a hurt voice. "Where were you today? Did you forget your promise to help me with shuri..ken…. Itachi-nii?

Sasuke's previous annoyance melted at the sight of his brother.

Itachi slowly pried Sasuke off him, before collapsing against the door, his head resting on his knees. Long black bangs, the tips dripping from the rain, partially covered his dark eyes, which were staring blankly at the floor.

"Itachi-nii?" Sasuke asked softly, crouching down in front of his older brother. "…Itachi-nii?"

"…Sasuke," Itachi said slowly in a hoarse voice, looking up at him.

Sasuke was scared. Itachi sounded really sad, but he didn't look hurt. There wasn't any blood on him, and he didn't seem sick or anything…

"It's late.. You should get to bed.." Itachi said indifferently.

His eyes told a different story, as they appeared to be struggling with something. Itachi bit his lip. Itachi moved so fast, Sasuke could only widen his eyes, as Itachi's folded around him, holding him so tightly, like he would never let go. A voice whispered repeatedly into his ear, and Sasuke felt tears in his eyes hearing the building anguish in his older brother's voice.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… _I'm sorry_…"

"Nii-san…?" Sasuke said, his voice breaking at the end.

Itachi quickly let go, his bangs hiding his face as he got up from the floor.

Suddenly, he smiled down at Sasuke, running a hand through his wet hair. "Sorry otouto, I forgot. Maybe we can do it tomorrow, okay?"

He poked Sasuke on the forehead, before walking past him. Sasuke watched silently as his older brother walked up the stairs.

"What's wrong, Itachi-nii?" he whispered in a worried tone.

* * *

**Yes, Itachi was just informed of his 'new mission,' those stupid Konoha bastards.**

**I hope you enjoyed it and just so you know, THIS CHAPTER BELONGS TO BLACKPANDA XD! At least most of it. :) Kay and I hope you guys find the strength to wait for and read the next chapter.**

**REVIEW!**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the Queen of B1aCk RoSE**


	10. Chapter 3: III Reiko: Group of Friends

**Here is the part three for chapter three. I think this gets a little more interesting.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Also, couple of the ANBUs that shows up in my story belongs to BlackPANDA xD as well as a certain dojutsu. That belongs to BlackPANDA xD. However, other then the ones I just mentioned, this story belongs to ME.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you will enjoy it. I apologize if you think my writing suck. I admit I'm not a professional so deal with it. Don't like it, don't read it. But if you have a constructive criticism at the end of this chapter, I'm open for them. Please read and review.**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the Queen of B1aCk RoSE**

**

* * *

Chapter 3: Reiko's Story**

Karasu, or Itachi nii-san as Reiko has came to call him, was like a big brother that she never had. Reiko at first was afraid of showing her emotions due to the harsh practices back in ANBU Roots but Itachi always encouraged her to show them. Sure, it felt awkward to plaster a smile on her face or laugh – hell, she wasn't even sure how she was supposed to laugh or when she was supposed to laugh. However, Itachi taught her how to feel and how to be a human. Now, she could laugh like a child her age and she sometimes even acted her age too, pouting adorably which caused her already deep dimples to deepen even more.

Reiko closed her eyes on her bed as she remembered the day she transferred to Itachi nii-san's ANBU squad from Danzo-sama's ANBU Root. The memories of her fighting Itachi nii-san flashed across her mind and she let a small smile on her lips. She remembered Itachi nii-san asking her if she would mind being trained by him.

*Start Flashback*

Karasu and Reiko were walking over to the medical ward of the ANBU along with the group of medics. Reiko could tell that despite the cool exterior that Karasu was showing, he was in an enormous amount of pain from the gashes that he got from her. He refused the help from the medics though he obviously was fighting to walk straight. Reiko still wasn't sure how she did it but she knew that it was her. How? That, she had no answer to.

After reaching the medical ward, the medics quickly set to treat Reiko's and Karasu's wounds. Reiko only had few gashes and bruises so she was quickly healed. However, Karasu was a different story.

"Karasu-san, please take off your shirt so that we can treat the wounds that you have received." A blond female medic instructed Karasu.

Karasu for a moment seemed a bit annoyed at having to take his shirt off but complied without any complaint. He peeled off his blood-sodden shirt, a slight frown flitting across his face as the action reopened the gashes that had stopped.

Reiko could tell that Karasu had been training hard for a very long time. She could see the Karasu's skin taut against his muscles, the kind that she had only seen in experienced ANBU Root members. Karasu didn't have an ounce of fat anywhere on his body and Reiko decided that whatever training he did, it must be pretty tough one.

The medics proceeded to heal the battered body of Karasu and soon, the bruises were healed and the numerous gashes that he received became thin pink line. After the medics were done with Karasu, he and Reiko started to walk back toward their quarters. Holding his blood-soaked shirt in one hand, Karasu started to walk bare-chested alongside Reiko. Silence hung between them as they walked until Karasu decided to break it.

"Fenikkusu, I have noticed that you have a bloodline, most likely a dojutsu." Karasu stated.

"I do not know of such. My parents, from what I heard, were just common civilians. They were the Okubos, the rich family that were massacred three years ago." Reiko told him.

"It is possible that you have just wakened them. Are you sure your parents were just civilians? Perhaps one of them was a shinobi and passed down the bloodline to you."

"I am absolutely sure there was no such bloodline in my family. My father was a successful businessman who made a fortune from trading between villages. My mother always stayed at home surrounded by our servants or go to some fancy parties." Reiko answered.

"Hmm. That is truly curious. Anyways, I have been wishing to ask you if you would like me to train you. I could probably train you in all types: Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Dojutsu. Especially in the last one. I have noticed that the dojutsu that you possess is particularly powerful and it will be dangerous for others to learn of it. I want you to keep what had just passed between us here secret. Don't tell anyone including Hokage-sama and Danzo-sama. Less knows of it, the safer you'll be." Karasu told her.

"Yes, Taichou-sama."

"I want you to call me Itachi from now on and I will call you Reiko. You will only address me as Taichou when there is other ANBUs present." Itachi told her.

"Yes, Itachi-sama." Reiko frowned internally as calling someone by their name sounded awkward to her, especially when he was her Taichou-sama.

"And drop the suffix –sama. Also, I'll rather not have you call me sensei either. For this, I want you and I to be more like friends helping each other out. I know how proficient you are with your skills and I am more than happy to learn from you. If you wish, you may call me nii-san." Itachi told her with a smile.

Itachi and Reiko walked the rest of the way in silence. As they were walking to Reiko's quarters, Reiko's vision suddenly warped and she started seeing mixture of weird mixture of mist-like colors. Flinching at the sudden onslaught of colors, Reiko halted and clutched her eyes, unsure of what was happening. Itachi immediately looked at her as she flinched and approached her as she was clutching at her eyes.

"Reiko, are you alright? What happened?" Itachi asked with his right hand resting on his kunai, ready to attack and defend should it be necessary.

Reiko could still see the swarm of colors behind the barrier of her hands. Moreover, the colors seemed to be radiating off Itachi. Violet. Indigo. Navy blue. For some strange reasons that she couldn't explain, Reiko could 'see' that Itachi was worried.

"I'm fine, Itachi-san. I apologize for detaining you." Reiko told Itachi as she forced herself to adjust to the new vision.

As Reiko looked at him, Itachi immediately knew something was amiss. Reiko's usual gray eyes were gone and a pair of vermillion red eyeswith markings took its place.

There was two triangles, one of them upside down and overlapping each other, and formed a six pointed star. In the hexagon at the center, three tomoes similar to sharingan rested. Six boomerang-looking shuriken markings were placed between each spikes of the star.

"Reiko, wait. Your eyes… Your dojutsu's activated." Itachi told her.

"My dojutus?"

"Yes."

"The dojutsu that you told me about? Is that the reason why I can suddenly see the colors of emotions swarming around you?" Reiko asked, wondering if this dojutsu actually caused the gashes that she inflicted on Itachi-san.

"You can see emotions?" Itachi asked incredulously.

"I'm not exactly sure but I can see colors swarming around you and somehow, I know what each colors mean." Reiko answered, unsure of whether this was a good thing or not.

Suddenly, Reiko clutched her head as she started hearing voices talking to her. Reiko was pretty sure this wasn't caused by the dojutsu, but some kind of memory that was locked deep inside her or something.

**~ Inside Reiko's mind ~**

"Now, my child, you know what we want. Give it to me. Tell me where it is." A leering voice belonging to a woman told her menacingly and Reiko found herself backing up slowly.

Reiko looked around her and found that the corridor she was just walking through with Itachi-san was gone and instead, a reddish desert took its place. The desert was void of all leaving things save for a woman, a man, and herself.

"My dear princess, give it to me and we promise not to hurt you." This time, a masculine voice whispered to her ears in a cruel voice that made Reiko flinch.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Just leave me alone. I really don't know what it is or where it is. Just please leave me alone." Reiko screamed in terror as people suddenly popped out of nowhere and menacingly approached her.

As the mob grabbed her with identical grin of complete sadism, Reiko screamed as loudly as her voice could allow and thrashed wildly in their grasp.

"Reiko, wake up. Whatever it is that you are seeing right now, it's not real. Wake up."

Reiko heard a familiar voice coming through the mob of people. She wasn't quite sure of whom it belonged to though. As the mob of people tried to pry the information of whatever it is they wanted, Reiko looked around at the massive swarm of people and saw color red all around her. Sadism. Sadism. Sadism. Everywhere she looked, she could see sadism radiating off them. She started thrashing once more and the woman slapped her hard across her face. Reiko began to scream as tears ran down her cheeks.

Itachi wasn't sure of what to do. One moment, Reiko was clutching her head as though a massive headache was rolling in and the next moment, she started screaming. Reiko started to speak as though she was talking to someone and Itachi knew that she was seeing something, similar to a genjutsu. However, Itachi didn't find even a mildest trace of genjutsu so he was quite sure this was something else. Reiko screamed that she didn't know what 'they' were talking about and to leave her alone. Her red eyes lost the focus and were semi-glazed.

To avoid unnecessary attention, Itachi swiftly picked up Reiko and went into the nearest room he could find. He ended up going into an unused tactical room. Reiko started thrashing in his arms and her red eyes started darting around, still unfocused. Itachi tried to wake her up but the attempt came up futile.

"Damn it." Itachi cussed softly.

Itachi activated his sharingan and forced Reiko's red eyes to look into his blood red eyes. Soon, Itachi entered into the vision that Reiko was seeing. Itachi frowned as he spotted a massive swarm of people with identical malignant expression on their faces approaching Reiko. Reiko thrashed in the grasp of a man as a woman spoke something in her ears. Itachi couldn't quite catch what the woman said but Reiko started screaming even more loudly.

Itachi quickly made his way over to Reiko. He was really getting worried for normally emotionless Reiko was crying, actually more like sobbing.

"Reiko, none of this is real. Wake up. Look at me, Reiko. None of this is real." Itachi told her when she was just about a foot away from him.

The female that was torturing Reiko turned to Itachi with a malicious grin on her otherwise beautiful face.

"Look who's here. We have the Uchiha prodigy and heir, Itachi Uchiha. My, my. I didn't know our little Reiko-chan actually had someone who cared." The woman jeered as she laughed malignantly.

Itachi was suddenly unsure about where this was real or just a dream. He was quite certain that the people he was seeing weren't really there but he had a feeling that their consciousness were actually inside Reiko's mind in a way similar to Itachi's.

Ignoring the woman's comment, Itachi quickly wrestled Reiko from the grasp of the man. With his superior strength, he was able to wrestle Reiko away from the man.

Holding Reiko close to him, Itachi shook her in attempt to wake her up. Reiko opened her red eyes that she closed when the woman told her something and directed her gaze on Itachi.

"Reiko, none of this is real. Please wake up. None of this is real."Itachi told her in a most soothing voice he could muster.

"This isn't real? How do I wake up?" Reiko croaked in a shaky voice.

"This isn't real. Clear your mind and focus on waking up. Reiko, just push the people off your mind." Itachi instructed.

Following Itachi's instruction, Reiko closed her eyes and pushed the images of the mob off her mind. Soon, Reiko could only see the blissful whiteness surrounding her and she forced her heavy eyelids to open.

Itachi quickly withdrew from Reiko's mind after making sure she was out of the hellish vision. He waited calmly for Reiko to wake up from the real world, wondering what was all that about. The ache in Reiko's young face was gone and was replaced with regal serenity. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing her usual grey eyes.

Looking around at her surroundings, Reiko's eyes caught Itachi as he was gazing down on her in a way that a big brother would.

"Thank you, Itachi… nii-san." Reiko sadi the last part after a small pause.

Itachi just simply smiled at the new suffix Reiko just gave to him. He liked it and he was more than happy to treat Reiko as his little sister.

"You're welcome, Reiko-chan." Itachi playfully ruffled Reiko's long indigo hair.

Itachi thought about asking who the people were but decided against it as he remembered Reiko screaming that she doesn't know and stuff. Besides, he didn't want to be the one to force her to think about the nightmarish vision.

Reiko and Itachi proceeded to Reiko's quarter. Stopping in front of Reiko's door, Itachi spoke.

"Reiko-chan, meet me tomorrow at training ground six. Are you okay with five o'clock in the morning?" Itachi asked.

"Yes, Itachi nii-san." Reiko told him.

Reiko disappeared into her quarter and Itachi started to walk back to his quarter. He let himself smile a little at the prospect of teaching possibly the strongest kunoichi Fire Nation had ever seen.

**~ XXX ~**

Reiko woke up at the steady beeping of her alarm clock. Turning off her alarm, she looked at the time.

3:00 AM

Reiko got out of her bed and went to the restroom to shower. After a quick cold shower, she changed into a tight spaghetti strap black tank top and comfortable black skinny jeans-looking flexible pants. The linen shaped around her lean muscular legs and her petite but muscular body. Despite her obvious young age, her limbs were lean and muscular due to the grueling trainings she went through every day with Danzo-sama.

After a quick breakfast and getting herself ready, Reiko left her quarters. Her wristwatch read 3:25 AM.

In just five minutes, she arrived at the training ground six. Reiko started to stretch, not wanting to suffer from cramps in her very first day of training. She had to say that she was looking forward to this. It wasn't everyday that Reiko met someone who could actually beat her. In fact, Itachi was the first one ever to be able to beat her.

Reiko stretched for ten minutes or so and started doing her usual an hour long warm-up. She started out with 500 laps around Konoha and ended with some taijutsus. Repeated kicking the tree, Reiko sensed a presence. In a one fluid motion, she through a kunai at the intruder and aimed a deadly kick to the tree, knocking it over.

Itachi walked out from the shadows, her kunai caught between his two fingers.

"I apologize. I thought you were just an intruder, Itachi nii-san." Reiko wasn't sure of what to do.

"That is just fine. It just tells me that you are very aware of your surroundings." Itachi told her.

"What will we start out with, Itachi nii-san?" Reiko asked, still not quite comfortable with the suffix nii-san.

"We will first start out with taijutsu, then ninjutsu, then kenjutsu, then genjutsu, and we will end with your dojutsu. Now I want you run around Konoha 500 times but this time, you will be blindfolded. I want you to listen to your surroundings and be aware of everything around you so that you can just zip through anything without having to look." Itachi told her.

"Yes, Itachi nii-san."

Itachi proceeded to wrap the bandages around Reiko's eyes. After giving the knot the last tug, he sent Reiko up to her first training task with an infinitesimal smile.

Reiko at first thought the task would be easy after the grueling training sessions with Danzo-sama. However, she was proven wrong after the first lap. She found that it was hard to actually dodge just by her other senses and she frowned as she once again bumped into a tree.

_'What is that I am doing wrong?'_ Reiko thought.

Then, suddenly she had an answer. She must clear her mind and listen to the nature around her. Clearing her mind, Reiko listened at the nature and suddenly began to hear all kinds of sounds. Using the sounds as her reference, she restarted her laps, this time pushing her legs to go faster and faster.

Reiko finally finished her five hundredth lap and returned to the training ground six. From the sound, she was sure Itachi nii-san was training as well. It sounded as though he was training some of his taijutsu moves.

"Itachi nii-san, I am finished." Reiko approached him without taking the bandages off her eyes.

"Good. Now I will throw weapons at you and I want you to dodge them all with your bandages on." Itachi told her.

Itachi admitted that he was surprised at Reiko's intelligence. It only took her a lap to figure out what she was supposed to do. Moreover, she was very proficient at laps as well. Itachi wondered what kind of training she went through before that she could do five hundred laps so easily.

For the next two hours, Reiko went through the most grueling taijutsu session she had ever done. She tried her best in every single task and soon, she was able to meet all the requirements Itachi nii-san had set up for the day. After taijutsu session and a small ten-minute-break, a two-hour-long ninjutsu session followed.

Reiko was thoroughly tired when she was done with all the sessions save for dojutsu session. Each session lasted for two hours and were the most taxing training she had done.

"Now, it's time for the dojutsu session, Reiko-chan." Itachi told her.

"Yes, Itachi nii-san."

"Now, I want you to focus your chakra to your eyes. Close your eyes and open it." Itachi instructed her.

Reiko followed Itachi nii-san's instructions and started to focus her chakra to her eyes. Suddenly, a strange feeling appeared on her eyes and her vision changed once again. It was just like the day before, the onslaught of colors dizzying her eyes. She tried to shift the colors so that she could adjust to her new vision.

"Good. Now I want you to attempt to control it. Try to mold your chakra from behind your eyes and control what you are seeing. You told me you can see feelings, right? Well, I want you to focus your vision." Itachi told her, his Sharingan blazing as well.

Following Itachi nii-san's instructions, Reiko tried to focus her vision. Suddenly, the massive wave of colors subsided and her vision cleared. She could still see the colors of emotions radiating from the living things but now, she wasn't blinded by them.

"Okay. Now I can see again." Reiko told him.

"Now, I want you to manipulate your chakra behind your eyes to control the blades. I want you to slice through that tree just with your eyes." Itachi told her, pointing at a thick tree nearby.

Reiko tried with all her might but all she could do was just small nicks here and there. She was terribly out of chakra and was barely controlling her eyes. Refusing to disappoint her new sensei, she tried to bring forth all of her remaining chakra. Suddenly, she felt a chakra stream separate from her own streaming through her body.

The chakra was tens of thousand times stronger than her usual one and her body felt revitalized after it ran through her body. She renewed her strength and attempted to slice the tree once more. All of the sudden, Reiko could see multiple blades right in front of her, poised to attack the tree.

Controlling the blades with her eyes as though they were just puppets, she concentrated on slicing the tree. The blades swished through the air and in a blink of an eye, the tree was sliced neatly in half, the cut running to the root of the tree. The tree started to fall and Itachi sidestepped out of the way.

Itachi was impressed. This was her first try and she could perform this well. Itachi wondered how well she could perform when she was fully trained in her dojutsu. He was however suspicious of all the chakra Reiko had suddenly gained. One moment, she was completely devoid of chakra and the next moment, she was revitalized with strong pulse of chakra running through her.

Reiko was confused at the sudden surge of chakra. She was hundred percent sure that she was exhausted of chakra but this strong pulse of chakra that now ran through her… It just didn't make sense. Besides, she knew that the chakra didn't belong to her. While her chakra was mellow, this chakra gave her a malignant feeling.

Shrugging off the strange feelings, Reiko and Itachi continued to train for next two hours. By the time they were done, both of them were quite exhausted but happy about the result.

"Reiko-chan, why don't we just call it a day? I think we had enough for now and besides, it's getting late. We should get ready for tomorrow's patrol." Itachi told her.

Looking at her watch, Reiko saw that it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. She had been training with Itachi nii-san for around ten hours now. Counting the little warm-up that she did, she trained for eleven to twelve hours. A strange feeling rose in her and she somehow knew that it was pride of what she had just accomplished.

Walking back to her quarters, Reiko was actually happy. Itachi told her to meet him tomorrow as well at the same place but an hour earlier. They would have a shorter practice session but after the patrol, if she still wants to, then they could have some more training. Reiko loved her new training and had a feeling that she would learn many things.

**~ XXX ~**

Inside her quarters, Reiko absentmindedly traced the ANBU tattoo she had gotten on her right arm two years ago as she pondered about what had happened during the training. The swirly tattoo of ANBU was branded on her the day she entered ANBU Root. After having a light shower to clean off all the sweat, Reiko proceeded to make herself presentable. Looking at the mirror in her bathroom, something caught her eyes. Beneath the ANBU tattoo, there was a second tattoo.

The tattoo was in red, purplish black, and blue. At the first glance, it seemed like a butterfly in sideway reflection but after a close examination, Reiko found that it was actually a bird. The wings were of blue with little bit of red. With purplish black body, flames of similar purplish black and red radiated from the bird.

_'It's like a phoenix.'_ She thought.

Suddenly, a voice, or more accurately a thought, that didn't belong to her flashed across her mind.

_'You are quite smart little girl, aren't you my little Fenni?'_ A feline voice growled from the depth of her mind.

_'Who… who are you? What are you doing inside my mind?'_ Reiko asked, unsure of what to do.

_'Me? I am the great Jubi no Fenikkusu.'_ The voice proudly declared, followed by a menacing laughter.

_'Wait, but Jubi doesn't exist. From the information that Danzo-sama gave me in ANBU Roots, there is only nine tailed beasts, the strongest being Kyubi no Kitsune. Kyubi is sealed inside Naruto Uzumaki, a six-year-old boy currently residing in Konohagakure.'_ Reiko stated, an unfamiliar feeling of worry surfacing from the cage that she locked them in two years ago but somehow reopened by Itachi.

_'Well, start believing it. You know of the old story about Rikkudo Sennin, don't you?'_ The voice asked.

_'Of course. Danzo-sama made sure that I was familiar with all legends, lest any of them be true. Rikkudo Sennin is a legendary shinobi who defeated all of the tailed beasts and brought peace to shinobi world. He created ninjutsu and he is said to be the most powerful shinobi ever existed. He had two sons, the older one being Uchiha and younger being Senju. He chose the younger brother as his heir, causing the animosity between the two brothers which last to this day, or at least until the Senju clan was wiped out save for few. None of the survivors are however fully Senju and the main branch of Senju have ceased to exist.'_ Reiko narrated as much as she knew about the Rikkudo Sennin.

_'You are absolutely right, my child. However, you are leaving out an important fact. You see, the tailed beasts that he fought were actually just a beast, a ten tailed beast or as you humans call me, Jubi. After defeating me, he sealed me inside himself, thus becoming the first Jinchuriki. When his death neared, he divided up all my chakra and created the nine tailed beasts as you now know today. After divvying up my chakra, he sealed his body inside his Shinra Tensei along with me, creating what you mortals now know as the moon.'_ The voice explained.

_'Wait, but if you were sealed in the moon, what are you doing in my mind?'_ Reiko asked.

_'Well, before Rikkudo Sennin died, he left a prophecy that when a Senju worthy of great respect appears, he or she will be ordained with honor, or curse depending on how you see it, of the burden of Jubi.'_ The voice answered.

_'But I'm not a Senju. I'm Reiko Okubo, the only daughter of the wealthy Okubo family. My parents were just cilvilians, not a shinobi.'_ Reiko told Jubi.

_'No, child. The Okubos had a great dept to repay to your parents and so when your parents died, they took you in. You were barely a month old then. Your father was the first born of the main branch family of Senju, Reoru Senju and your mother was the first born of Uzumaki main branch family. Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, is actually the younger sister of your mother, Mikiko Uzumaki.'_ The feminine voice of Jubi told Reiko.

_'I… I'm the daughter of the main branch of Senju and Uzumaki?'_ Reiko stammered, shock obvious on her face.

_'Yes, Fenni. Moreover, the Uzumaki clan is actually a branch that broke off from Senju and Uchiha long time ago. The heir of Senju clan and the heiress of Uchiha clan broke off from their respective clans along with couple shinobis. They started a new clan with the name 'Uzumaki' in the land of Whirlpools. This fact was kept secret for years and years until it finally got lost in time.'_ Jubi explained patiently.

_'And your point is?'_ Reiko asked, unsure of where all of this was heading to.

_'Well, the Uzumakis eventually added another clan to its mix. Hyugas, a clan that broke off from Uchihas, were added when couple of the main branch family decided to rebel against their clan policy and joined the Uzumakis. With the three powerful dojutsus combined, including the Rinnegans that made its appearance every now and then in Senjus, the offspring was the ultimate dojutsu, Kuroibaragan.'_ The voice finished.

_'Kuroibaragan? Black roses?'_ Reiko smirked to herself.

_'Yes. Kuroibaragan is red like the Sharingan of Uchihas and contain their three tomoes in the center. However, they also have two triangles forming a six-pointed star and six blade-looking marks are placed between each spike. You own one just like the one I just described.' _ Jubi told her.

_'You think I own Kuroibaragan?'_ Reiko asked incredulously.

_'I'm certain of it. Kuroibaragan not only allows you to se emotions of others, but also allows you to control invisible blades as well. Moreover, those ones are only the first stage. There is total of five stages and at the fifth stage, you could probably call yourself the most powerful shinobi alive. However, this dojutsu is so rare, even rarer than Rinnegan, that hardly anyone knows of it.'_ The voice smirked.

_'Nice. But are you saying that I'm the tenth Jinchuriki?' _Reiko asked.

_'Yes. Apparently, you are supposedly the 'worthy' Senju. Rikkudo Sennin knew that the seal binding me to him will weaking gradually over time and at some point, it's going to break. By sealing me in you, he basically rebuilt the seal. As you become the tenth Jinchuriki, the chakras that I once possessed comes back to me except the ones that were dispersed into other tailed beasts. The chakra I currently have is much greater than Kyubi's but it is nowhere near to what I once psosesed. You could, however, help me by rebuilding my chakra from the tailed beasts and rip off the ring around my right foot.'_ Jubi told Reiko in a sly voice.

_'No. But I have couple more questions. You told me that you are Jubi no Fenikkusu. Does that mean you are Ten Tailed Phoenix? And why am I getting this tattoo? Also, how come I didn't know you were inside me until now?'_ Reiko asked.

_'I take the shape of Phoenix, the legendary bird that rises from the flame once every thousand years. The 'tattoo', as you call it, is not a real tattoo. You can think of it more as a seal. The 'tattoo' you just received is my emblem and you got it because you summoned my chakra during your training session with the Uchiha while working on your Kuroibaragan.' The voice answered._

_'Okay. But you still haven't answered my last question.' _Reiko stated.

_'Patience, Fenni. You weren't aware of me until now because you simply never called to me. You always relied on your own chakra and never needed me.'_ Jubi told her.

_'Fine. Now what do I do? Do I just tell other?'_ Reiko asked.

_'No. Keep the entire thing secret. You may however tell the young Uchiha about your Kuroibaragan but you may not tell anyone, ANYONE, about you being the tenth jinchuriki. It will be very dangerous for you._' Jubi told her.

_'Okay. Also, thanks for helping me back in the training, Jubi.'_ Reiko told Jubi.

_'You're welcome, Fenni.'_ With that, the voice withdrew from her mind and Reiko was left with just herself once again.

The next morning, she went through the similar routine and arrived at the training ground. Meeting up with Itachi nii-san, she told him everything Jubi told her about Kuroibaragan. Itachi nii-san only nodded and listened attentively.

"Reiko, I think it will be best if we keep this entire thing quiet. This kind of bloodline is so powerful that the other nations will want to steal it. Besides, I don't think the Hyugas and Uchihas are going to like the idea of having to live with a person who has a dojutsu more powerful than theirs." Itachi told her gravely.

"Yes, Itachi nii-san." Reiko answered.

**~ XXX ~**

From then, Reiko trained with Itachi every day for hours and hours, on and off their missions. Reiko could feel herself getting stronger and stronger and her dojutsu has improved to the point where she could manipulate the blades with great ease. Itachi had improved as well. His Sharingan which hosted only two tomoes now hosted three and was already in stage two.

With her newfound emotions, Reiko always called Itachi as Itachi nii-san and Itachi treated her like his little sister. Reiko still didn't have much friends but she became closer with her ANBU teammates.

**~ XXX ~**

**A year later…**

"Reiko, I just received a new mission. It's an S-rank mission and I might not be able to train with you like I used to. You are now good enough to train on your own anyways." Itachi told Reiko.

"What is it?" Reiko asked, disappointed at the news.

"I can't tell you. Hokage-sama explicitly told me to keep it a secret." Itachi answered.

Reiko tried not to show it but inside, she was deeply disappointed. If he has an S-rank mission, it meant he would probably go out of the village.

"Where are you going?" Reiko asked.

"I'm actually just staying here. I am to watch over this kid because there had been multiple attempts on his life, shinobis and civilians all alike." Itachi answered, unsure of telling her this much was okay or not.

Reiko brightened couple shades. Itachi nii-san wasn't going anywhere. She would still be able to be around him. She watched at the disappearing figure as Itachi nii-san left for his mission.

**~ XXX ~**

**Couple days later…**

Reiko was training when she felt a familiar presence coming from a nearby training ground. The scent of the chakra was something that she could recognize miles away. It was Itachi's. However, she also spotted two other chakra scents as well. Using her Kuroibaragan, she decided to scout the area.

The scene that met Reiko's eyes was something that she had least expected. Itachi was just sitting leisurely at the treetop, watching over as two boys were training. Moreover, one of the boys had… the same eyes that she had. It was the blond one, the jinchuriki for Kyubi. It was Naruto Uzumaki, the cousin that Jubi told her about.

Masking her chakra, she slowly approached the three and watched quietly from the shadow. She could tell that Naruto hadn't been training his Kuroibaragan for long. However, he controlled his Kuroibaragan with quite a bit of skill and Reiko had to admit that he was pretty good compared to the time he probably trained.

Suddenly, Naruto turned around and looked toward her direction with Kuroibaragan blazing in his eyes.

"Hey, you can come out now, too. I know you are there, whoever you are." Naruto yelled.

_'Shit. How did he know? Right. He has Kuroibaragan. He can probably sense my feelings even if he can't sense my chakra.'_ Reiko cursed in her mind.

Itachi quickly spun on his feet, his hands both at his kunais and his Sharingan blazing under his crow mask.

Reiko walked out into the clearing and Itachi visibly relaxed.

_'What's Reiko doing out here without her mask, just in her training outfit. Right, right now is her training time. She must have been training when she caught our chakra scent.'_ Itachi thought.

"Who are you? You look pretty young to be a shinobi. How old are you anyways?" Naruto asked.

"I'm Reiko and am currently five years old. There is no age limit to a shinobi, Naruto Uzumaki." Reiko told him.

Naruto's blazing red eyes widened a fraction when Reiko knew his name. Moreover, the girl was two years younger than him.

"Cool. I'm five too." A boy with raven hair and red eyes told her excitedly. "Do you want to train with us?"

Naruto suddenly gave the boy a sharp jab at his rib. "Dattebayo, this is supposed to be a secret!" Then the volume dropped couple notch. "You know …"

Reiko couldn't quite catch the last part but she was pretty sure it was about Naruto's bloodline, Kuroibaragan.

"You mean his bloodline?" Reiko asked.

The two boys suddenly whipped their heads toward her.

"NANI! YOU KNOW ABOUT IT?" the raven haired boy asked.

"Well, yeah. I have one too, the exact one that Naruto has." Reiko told them.

For some reason, Reiko felt as though she could tell the two. Naruto wouldn't tell anyone since he was keeping his a secret as well and she didn't think the raven haired boy would tell anyone either since he was pretty discrete about Naruto's. Besides, she was glad to find someone who had the same bloodline as she does. Now, she can train with someone with same bloodline.

"So… can I train with you, you know just on our bloodline." Reiko asked.

"Wait, are you a shinobi? You dress and act like one." The raven haired boy asked.

"Yes. I'm actually an ANBU but don't really think much about it." Reiko told them. "Anyways, you didn't tell me your name yet." Reiko told the raven haired boy.

"I'm Kano." He told her.

Reiko could sense some strange dark chakra deep inside Kano but he radiated just simpleminded happiness. Even though some part of him sounded a bit odd and he acted mature for his age, Reiko disregarded them. Besides, Reiko acted much older for her age anyways. She decided that Kano was trustable or at least mostly trustable.

She was looking forward to their training.

**~ XXX ~**

They trained, trained, and trained. Naruto, Kano, and Reiko had finally formed a group of sort. For the first time in her life, Reiko had a group of friends and she really loved the feeling. Along with Itachi nii-san, she loved her life.

A year passed again and it was time for Naruto to enter the Ninja Academy. Even though Reiko was two years younger than him, she decided that she wanted to enroll as well. Disguising herself as just a commoner, she entered the Academy.

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**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I really enjoyed writing this chapter as well, especially where Reiko meets the Jubi. For those of you who might be a bit confused, Reiko is currently four years old, Itachi is nine years old, and Kakashi (Ookami) is fourteen years old. Reiko is two years younger than Sasuke, Naruto, and their friends. I am aware that I'm making the age gap between Itachi and Sasuke much smaller into three years but I really don't want to make a pair have more age difference than five years. I think five years is already pushing it and I'm not going to make it like ten year gap. Besides, I like writing about teenagers and if I make Itachi and Kakashi too old, I won't get to write about their life as teens later on.**

**Also, I have some more things that I want to clear up.**

**Karasu is Itachi Uchiha and it stands for Crow.**

**Fenikkusu is Reiko Okubo and it stands for Phoenix.**

**Ookami is Kakashi Hatake and it stands for Wolf.**

**Taichou is just a title that they use to call their leader.**

**I hope that clears a bit. I just thought it will be much better if I used the Japanese version instead of just calling them Crow, Wolf, Phoenix, and etc. But I still used the English version for some of them just to avoid some confusion. You guys might get confused if I called every one of them in Japanese name. Besides, I get to save time that I would otherwise have used in looking up the words to see how to pronounce them. :)**

**Also, I changed Reiko's last name from Senju to Okubo. But you guys already found out that Reiko is actually Reiko Senju not Reiko Okubo anyways so yeah... Also, Naruto is Reiko's cousin, in case some of you didn't catch that.**

**One more thing, I'm going to write about Reiko's first Academy day in the next chapter part three. You guys will just have to wait to find out what happens in her first day.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**- Kaerelie Cecilia, the Queen of B1aCk RoSE**


	11. Chapter 4: I The Burdened

**Hello again. This is my fourth chapter part I. Now you get to hear my little Naruto and Reiko rant about some semi-depressing things and stuff. Actually, this one's not that depressing compared to other ones so yeah. Well, I hope you enjoy it and I really apologize for sucking in writing. I always was and I doubt that's going to change anytime soon so I might just as well show the world how much I suck. Really, it's not like people's actually going to praise my writing since I already know I suck. Anyways, when you're done reading, just press the blue link/button and tell me how much this story sucked or something. Or maybe after you read the next two parts of this chapter to see if I improve or not (which I don't except probably the second part since most of that part if not all are written by this awesome person BlackPANDA xD but I bet your faces will be crestfallen after reading the third part so if you don't want to, then don't read it. It really saves a lot of trouble.)**

**Disclaimer: The plot for this chapter and next couple chapters do NOT belong to me. They belong to BlackPANDA xD and the only part that belongs to me is the Reiko's part of the part I and every chapter's part III. Also, I changed a little bit of the Naruto's part but mostly are written by BlackPANDA xD. Also, I do NOT own Naruto and the only character I own so far are Reiko and couple characters that I'm going to introduce in part III. But, they are not really that important so until now, Reiko's the only main character that I own.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**

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**Chapter 4: The Burdened**

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**_"So tell me, what's it like living in a constant haze of stupidity?"-Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho)_**

**____****_"The story the Leavers have been enacting for the past three million years isn't a story of conquest and rule. Enacting it doesn't give them power. Enacting it gives them lives that are satisfying and meaningful to them. This is what you'll find if you go among them. They're not seething with discontent and rebellion, not incessantly wrangling over what should be allowed and what forbidden, not forever accusing each other of not living the right way, not living in terror of each other, not going crazy because their lives seem empty and pointless, not having to stupefy themselves with drugs to get through the days, not having a new religion every week to give them something to hold on to, not forever searching for seomthing to do or something to believe in that will make lives worth living. And - I repeat - this is not because they live close to nature or have no formal government or because they're innately noble. This is simply because they're enacting a story that works well for people - a story that worked well for three million years and that still works where the Takes haven't yet managed to stamp it out." - Daniel Quinn_**

**____****_" Depression is nourished by a lifetime of ungrieved and unforgiven hurts." - Penelope Sweet_**

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There are a lot of people out in the world. Every one of them has a unique life that is just theirs. But some people have ones worse than others. We have secrets, we have a darkness. But we're all the same and yet different. We want what the rest has. Something they took for granted. But why, then, are we always quiet? Why does the one who wants the most never accept the fact that they do? Why do they never reach for it?_

_It's the same for everybody. When one loved another, he wanted so badly to tell her. But he doesn't. When one has a bad home life, and is beaten and abused nearly every day, why does he turn to the darkness? Why would he stick that needle in his arm when there are people in the world wanting to help him? Is it pride? Is it stubbornness? Cowardice? Do we like this pain?_

_I was always running, from pain, from solitude, from the world. I sometimes wondered why I was running. Am I really a coward? Am I just a weak person? But then, with time, I found my answer. Sometimes, you need to run away just to see who will follow you. I'm sick of trying, sick of crying, I know I've been smiling, but inside I'm dying. Maybe one day it will be okay again. That's all I want. I don't care what it takes. I just want to be okay again. But… I know that my life would never be okay._

_We are the burdened. And because of our darkness, we don't turn to the light. But I just have one thing to say to you, Don't hold strong opinions about things you don't understand._

_-Naruto_

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_**"I never asked you to earn me. I want only that you should need me. Your path is not one of merit. Bring the recurring desires of your mind to me, every time they emerge. They cannot shock me, for I willed them! Bring me your confusion, your fear, your craving, your anxiety, your inability to love the world, your hesitation to serve, your jealousy, all the deficiencies that defy your spiritual disciplines." - Sri Sathya Sai Baba**_

**_"It seemed like this was one big Prozac nation, one big mess of malaise. Perhaps the next time half a million people gather for a protest march on the White House green it will not be for abortion rights or gay liberation, but because we're all so bummed out." - Elizabeth Wurtzel_**

**_"If depression is creeping up and must be faced, learn something about the nature of the beast: You may escape without a mauling." - Dr. R. W. Shepherd_**

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As I look at my arm, I see the scar where I had cut myself. It was stupid but I remember the feeling: it felt good. The cold feel of blade running over my smooth skin and the blood trickling down my arm made me think of a figure skater dancing on the ice. It was a real work of art, the scarred shape of phoenix on my arm, the bird's wings menacingly open. It was harder than the normal straight lines I made before but the pain was worth it. I relished the pain._

_You know, I talked to Naruto about it, the love of pain. He told me he did something like that before, the scar that reads DEMON on his arm. We talked about how everyone comes with a price, we talked about the world. I didn't notice it when we first met, but we realized that we have many things in common. Just because we're smiling doesn't mean we're happy. We used to be tired of living and scared of dying but now? We are tired of living and embrace the dying. Just one thing, Don't fall into the trap of pretending everything's fine when you know it isn't._

_Naruto and I both agree on so many things. I'm just learning how to smile, and that's not easy to do. Sometimes it hurts more to smile in front of everyone, then to cry all alone. I don't necessarily want to be happy; I just want to stop feeling miserable. You know, many people ask me what's wrong. To tell you the truth, it's hard to answer the question "what's wrong" when nothing's right. I'm done with trying and done with the world. I guess there comes a point where you just have to stop trying because it hurts too much to hold on anymore._

_They asked me why I cut myself. Well, just when I thought my life was coming together, I realized it was just starting to fall apart. But then, I still wanted to be remembered as the girl who always smiled, the one who could brighten up your day, even if she couldn't brighten her own. You say I'm always happy, and that I'm good at what I do, but what you'll never realize is, I'm a damn good actress too._

_Stop the world, I want to get off._

_-Reiko_

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_**"I start to feel like I can't maintain the facade any longer, that I may just start to show through. And I wish I knew what was wrong. Maybe something about how stupid my whole life is. I don't know. Why does the rest of the world put up with the hypocrisy, the need to put a happy face on sorry, the need to keep on keeping on?... I don't know the answer, I know only that I can't. I don't want any more vicissitudes, I don't want any more of this try, try again stuff. I just want out. I've had it. I am so tired. I am twenty and I am already exhausted." - Elizabeth Wurtzel**_

**_"They say they don't know when but a day is gonna come. When there won't be a moon and there won't be a sun. It will just go black. It will just go back to the way it was before." - Conor Oberst_**

**_"... Depression is not sobbing and crying and giving vent, it is plain and simple reduction of feelings... People who keep stiff upper lips find that it's damn hard to smile." - Judith Guest_**

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Thanks for enduring my story and I hope you like/liked it. I would always appreciate reviews.**

**-Kaerelie Cecilia, the keeper and guardian of B1aCk RoSE**


	12. Announcement

**Announcement:**

Hey guys, I just want you guys to know that I won't be updating this story for a while. Now that the school started and all, my mom demands that I spend more time doing school things and stuff. I'll still be writing though and I'll post them all during next summer. Thanks for reading my story so far.

Oh, also, I'm going to start rewriting my stories and editing some parts. I'm not very satisfied with some parts of this story and I'm going to change them, hopefully for better. There may be small setting changes or possibly plot changes but I'm going to try to keep them relatively same. It'll be sad if you guys all had to go back and read around 45000 words just for minor changes. But if there is any consequential changes, then I'll inform you where it changes and quick summary of it. Also, I'll let you know which part of a chapter it is so that should you want to read detailed change, you can go back and read it.

Most of all, I really want to thank you guys for being patient with me and I hope that you guys will like the changes and future chapters. I already have the entire story plot in my head and I think you guys will like it. Well, I hope you guys do, at least. Yes, I'm aware that my story gets depressing at times and all but there will be some happier chapters in the future. But then, depressing stories are just my thing and I can't help but to write out some of those things. Well, my stories reflect my feelings at the time of writing and yeah.

Oh, and I'll try to speed up to the regular timeline but there is still going to be few more chapters regarding Naruto's and Reiko's childhood. I apologize if you guys are getting a bit frustrated with the slow pacing and all. There's just some things that's really important later on and those things must be settled first to understand the later plot. Right now, I have two major plot twists going on in my head that's going to lead up to the final climax and they are quite sadistic, but I think you guys will like it.

Since I'm giving you this boring news about how I'm not going to be able to update my stories for a while, as a recompense, I'll give a small heads up. This story is actually going to end when Naruto is in his mid teens. I haven't exactly decided his age but he won't be any older than sixteen and any younger than fourteen for sure. You guys might be wondering why I'm cutting so fast. Well, the thing is, in my planning, it's going to be at least until chapter ten or eleven before Naruto and Reiko become Genins - since there is three part to each chapter, it technically means thirty to thirty three chapters excluding the prologue - and by the time Naruto is in his mid teens, I'll probably have at least eighty 'chapters' or so (actually it'll be just about chapter thirty or something but you know, I have three parts per chapter) and I think it's just long enough for it to be the book one of this story.

On the other hand, I have a good news. When I'm done with The Truth, I'm going to write a sequel that follows directly after The Truth ends. Yes, so it's going to start out with Naruto in his mid teens. I already have all the ideas for the first half of the sequel and I actually wrote out a particular scene that's going to happen in the sequel. I haven't decided on its name - I'll do that when I'm done with The Truth - but there _is_ going to be a sequel.

Anyways, thanks for reading and being patient. I'll try to write a lot of (good) chapters to compensate for the long absence.

**-Kaylee (aka. Kaerelie Cecilia, the Queen of B1aCk RoSE)**


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